Contact Person: Dr Kathleen England

WHAT IS A HEALTH EXAMINATION SURVEY?

Health examination surveys (HES) incorporate self-reported questionnaire methods along with physiological and clinical measurements, such as weight, height and blood pressure, and the collection of blood samples for the measurement of cholesterol, glucose etc. While interview surveys offer a valuable snap shot of the health of the population, for many health indicators, a health examination survey is a more reliable data source when there are issues of under or over reporting by respondents or recall bias. The physical measurements collected through HES compliment the information collected through interview surveys and give an indication of the discrepancy between respondents perceived level of health versus their actual level of health such as through the comparison of self-reported and measured weight and height values.

BACKGROUND TO THE 2010 EHES PILOT STUDY

The European Health Examination Survey (EHES) is being established to collect comparable, high quality data on the health and health risks of the European adult population. A two-year planning and pilot phase of EHES started in 2009. A pilot study is being conducted to test the EHES procedures amongst European countries before adopting the full-blown HES in 2013 – 2014. A Joint Action was issued by the European Commission for the part funding of the pilot study amongst the European countries that opted to participate. Fourteen countries will be participating in the pilot EHES, these are: Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and the UK/England.

Malta’s participation

The health authorities in Malta have long been feeling the need for such a survey to be carried out. While the Department of Health Information and Research (DHIR) has already organised two Health Interview Surveys, it does recognise the limitation of self-reported data, when compared to the prevalence rates obtained when actually screening the respondents for any diseases, as in a Health Examination Survey. The latter survey would also capture those who may be suffering from a disease but are, as yet, unaware. For this reason, DHIR decided to participate in this European pilot project to gather the information required to validate data obtained from other types of survey.

The only examination survey ever conducted in Malta was carried out in 1984 – the MONICA survey and a re-analysis of the data discovered that, back then, as many as twice the number of people who knew they had high blood pressure actually had high blood pressure on examination. This highlights the need for such an examination survey to be carried out in Malta.

Malta is also planning to join the full European Health Examination Survey which is being envisaged for 2013 – 2014.

The fieldwork for the pilot study is planned to start in late autumn 2010.

METHODOLOGY

A sample of 200 participants will be examined within each of the 14 countries. A set of core questions and measurements will be included in all countries:
Questionnaire items include basic background characteristics of the participants like age, sex, and socio-economic status, health behaviours, and health status.
Physical measurements include weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure.
Blood samples are collected for the measurement of cholesterol and glucose.
In addition, each country may include other measurements, such as physical function tests, dental examinations, bone density, mental health, various markers from the blood samples etc., and wider questionnaire. To assure the comparability and high quality of the data, particular attention will be paid to standardization of the measurement protocols, training and quality control.

THE EUROPEAN HEALTH EXAMINATION SURVEY PILOT STUDY 2010 – FINAL REPORT

The final report for the European Health Examination Survey Pilot Study can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

EHES 2010 Pilot Study – Final Report