Summary

Description

The Health Survey for England (HSE) is part of a programme of surveys commissioned by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (NHS IC), and carried out since 1994 by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the UCL Medical School. The study provides regular information that cannot be obtained from other sources on a range of aspects concerning the public's health and many of the factors that affect health. The series of Health Surveys for England was designed to monitor trends in the nation's health, to estimate the proportion of people in England who have specified health conditions, and to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors and combinations of risk factors associated with these conditions. The survey is also used to monitor progress towards selected health targets. The main focus of the HSE in 2010 was respiratory health and lung function. Additional modules of questions were also included, covering contraception and sexual health, wellbeing, kidney disease and dental health.