Consultation on the Scottish Health Survey questionnaire content

Overview

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) has been carried out annually since 2008 and prior to this was carried out in 1995, 1998, and 2003. Commissioned by the Scottish Government Health Directorates, the series provides regular information on aspects of the public's health and factors related to health which cannot be obtained from other sources

The current survey contract runs up to and including 2017, and was awarded to ScotCen Social Research.

The Scottish Government is seeking users’ views on the future content of the survey from 2018 onwards (procurement subject to Ministerial approval).

Why your views matter

We are consulting on the content of the Scottish Health Survey with the following aims.

To seek to reduce the overall length of the questionnaire by approximately 20%. Interviews are currently over-running compared to expectations at the beginning of the current contract period by around ten minutes for one adult interview. A shortened questionnaire length will reduce the overall respondent burden which is therefore expected to have a beneficial impact on response rates.

• To seek to meet new user requirements
• To consider whether the survey should follow a more ‘modular’ structure while continuing to meet local needs.
• To demonstrate the importance that questions are included in the survey, whether there are any other sources, and the necessary sample size and frequency for each module of questions.

Full details on the scope of the consultation and the content of the Scottish Health Survey are available in the accompanying consultation document.

What happens next

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us finalise the questionnaire content. We will publish a report detailing the recommendations of the review in late 2016. Following this, these recommendations will be taken to the survey's project board and contractors for further consideration before finalising the questionnaire for 2018.