About this study
The Welsh Health Survey (WHS) is commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide information about the health of people in Wales. WHS in its current form began in 2003 and NatCen have been involved in the survey since its inception.
You can read how the survey is conducted plus previous year's findings here. Topic areas include:
- health status, such as general health and longstanding illness,
- health determinants, including smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity, and
- health service use, including GP, hospital and dental services.
Potential policy impact
WHS provides estimates of health status, determinants and service use at national and local level (health board and unitary authority) and for key subgroups.
WHS also contributes to setting and monitoring targets and indicators in health strategies and National Service frameworks, and development of joint local health, social care and wellbeing strategies.
Methods
WHS collects data from approximately 15,000 adults and 3,000 children annually in 10,000 households in Wales. It uses a short paper-based household questionnaire, and individual self-completion questionnaires.
In 2007 data collection for children aged 0-15 was extended with the introduction of longer age-specific questionnaires, and for children aged 2-15 height and weight measurements.
Where to find results and data
The main report and technical report are published annually and a dataset is submitted to the UK Data Archive.
- The main report is published by the Welsh Assembly Government. Visit this website to view the latest and previous reports.
- The technical report is published by NatCen and will be available on our website shortly.
- In 2009 we conducted an evaluation of how well the survey meets the needs of data users. Generally speaking feedback was positive, and showed that there was a real appetite for survey data. You can read the evaluation report at the Welsh Assembly Government website here.