Health Interview Survey

Dataset

A national Health Interview Survey (HIS) provides an overall picture of the health status of the population and allows to identify the main health problems, as well as the social and behavioral factors that influence them. This information enables health authorities to pursue a proactive health policy aimed at improving public health and addressing the needs of groups at risk.

Sciensano organized a large-scale Health Interview Survey (HIS) among the Belgian population for the first time in 1997, and is repeated every 4 to 5 years since. The HIS collects information on a wide range of health topics: physical and mental health, health determinants, use of health care and preventive services, perception of the physical and social environment, etc. Researchers, experts and the press use the results of the HIS.

Overview

Alternative Titles / Acronym

Keywords

determinants of health health status lifestyle general population home visit household health and society health care use meneral population mental health prevention quality of life

Languages

ENG

Health Categories

Data on factors impacting on health, including socio-economic, environmental and behavioural determinants of health Data from research cohorts, questionnaires and surveys related to health, after the first publication of results

Population Coverage

A sample of the general population.

Personal Data Categories

Demographic

Purposes

The Health Interview Survey aims to collect information on population's health and healthcare need that is not available from other data sources. It is therefore explicitly intended as a tool to support public health policy. The added value of this survey lies in its horizontal approach to data collection: different types of information—including health status, lifestyle, healthcare utilisation, and socio-economic characteristics—are collected simultaneously from the same individuals. This makes it possible to obtain a comprehensive picture of the population's health and its priority healthcare needs. Repeating the survey at regular intervals also makes it possible to monitor changes over time in health, healthcare needs, and the impact of public health interventions.

Documentation