Scottish Health Survey – telephone survey – August/September 2020: technical report
Presents information on the methodology and fieldwork from the Scottish Health Survey – telephone survey- August September 2020.
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References and notes
1 The 1995 and 1998 surveys were carried out by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen Social Research) and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London Medical School (UCL). The MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow (MRC SPHSU) joined the consortium in 2003. ScotCen Social Research (a branch of NatCen Social Research), UCL and MRC SPHSU conducted the 2008-2011 surveys after a decision was made to carry out the survey annually.
2 Tourangeau, R. and Yan, T. (2007). Sensitive Questions in Surveys. Psychological Bulletin, Volume 133 (5), p859-883. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5901/847a3e5adbd4ff53f2c419ab15816392779d.pdf?_ga=2.172687904.2087136932.1607599737-177553291.1607599737
3 Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland’s route map. Edinburgh: Scottish Government (2020). Available at: https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-scotlands-route-map/
4 Heart Disease Improvement Plan. Edinburgh, Scottish Government. 2014. www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/5434
5 Stroke Improvement Plan. Edinburgh, Scottish Government. 2014. www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/9114
6 NatCen Social Research and UCL. (2019). Health Survey for England 2018 Methods. NHS Digital. Available from: https://files.digital.nhs.uk/CA/2393EF/HSE18-Methods-rep.pdf
7 Lewis, G. & Pelosi, A. J. (1990). Manual of the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule CIS–R. London: Institute of Psychiatry; Lewis G, Pelosi AJ, Araya R, Dunn G. (1992) Measuring psychiatric disorder in the community; a standardised assessment for use by lay interviewers. Psychological Medicine; 22, 465-486.
8 The nurse interview is conducted with one adult at a time, whereas the main interview can be conducted concurrently with up to four household members present. It was therefore easier to ensure that these questions could be answered in confidence. Nurses were also thought to be better placed to handle very sensitive topics such as these than interviewers conducting a general health survey who would have required additional specialist briefing. A leaflet with various help lines was handed to all participants in the nurse visit. From 2012, these questions have been included in the biological module of the survey, conducted by specially trained interviewers, and will be completed by participants using a self-completion computer aided questionnaire.
9 Goldberg, D and Williams, PA (1988). A User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.
10 Further information about WEMWBS is available at: www.healthscotland.com/scotlands-health/population/Measuring-positive-mental-health.aspx
11 Stewart-Brown, S and Janmohamed, K (2008). Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). User Guide Version 1. Warwick and Edinburgh: University of Warwick and NHS Health Scotland. Available at: http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/2702.aspx
12 See: http://nationalperformance.gov.scot/
13 NHS Health Scotland (2012). Establishing a core set of national, sustainable
mental health indicators for children and young people in Scotland: Final Report.
[online]. Available at: http://www.healthscotland.com/uploads/documents/18753-C&YP%20Mental%20Health%20Indicators%20FINAL%20Report.pdf
14 Romero-Corral, A. et al (2008). Accuracy of body mass index in diagnosing obesity in the adult general population. International Journal of Obesity 32: 959–966.
16 These cut-offs differ to those used in the previous surveys. In 1995 and 1998 the normal weight range was defined as 20-25 kg/m2, in 2003 it was changed to 18.5-25 kg/m2. From 2008 onwards the ranges are defined as set out below. This brings the definition in line with WHO recommendations. The impact of the change of definition is very marginal as very few people have a BMI measurement that is exactly 18.5, 25, 30 or 40 kg/m2.
| 2003 | 2008 onwards | |
|---|---|---|
| Underweight | 18.5 or under | Less than 18.5 |
| Normal weight | Over 18.5 – 25 | 18.5 to less than 25 |
| Overweight | Over 25 – 30 | 25 to less than 30 |
| Obese | Over 30 – 40 | 30 to less than 40 |
| Morbidly obese | Over 40 | 40+ |
17 Bellis MA, Hughes K, Jones L, Morloe M, Nichols J, McCoy E, Webster J and Sumnall H (2015). Holidays, celebrations, and commiserations: measuring drinking during feasting and fasting to improve national and individual estimates of alcohol consumption. BMC Med; 13(1): 113. Available at: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0337-0
18 Torvik FA, Rognmo K and Tambs K (2012). Alcohol use and mental distress as predictors of non-response in a general population health survey: the HUNT study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology; 47(5):805-816. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3328681/
19 Gorman E, Leyland AH, McCartney G, White IR, Katikireddi SV, Rutherford L, Graham L and Gray L (2014). Assessing the representativeness of population-sampled health surveys through linkage to administrative data on alcohol-related outcomes. American Journal of Epidemiology; 180(9): 941-8. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4207717/
20 Gorman E, Leyland AH, McCartney G, Katikireddi SV, Rutherford L, Graham L, Robinson M and
Gray L (2017). Adjustment for survey non-representativeness using record-linkage: refined estimates of alcohol consumption by deprivation in Scotland. Addiction; 112(7): 1270-1280. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.13797
21 See: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-survey-2008/pages/29/
22 Participants were first asked if they had drunk alcohol in the past seven days. If they had, they were asked on how many days and, if on more than one, whether they had drunk the same amount on each day or more on one day than others. If they had drunk more on one day than others, they were asked how much they drank on that day. If they had drunk the same on several days, they were asked how much they drank on the most recent of those days. If they had drunk on only one day, they were asked how much they had drunk on that day.
23 See: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/alcoholic-drinks-units/latest-uk-alcohol-unit-guidance/
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