Survey response

This section looks at the response of households in the sample, and at the response of eligible individuals within those households. Individual response rates for adults and children are then examined within responding households. Response rates presented in this section are based on unweighted data.

Overview

Table 1 summarises address-level response rates. In total, 19,500 addresses were issued. In remote surveys, no information is known about the reason for non-response in each individual address. However, it can be assumed that around 10% of addresses in the sample (1,950) were not residential and were therefore ineligible to complete the survey. The adjusted address-level response rate, i.e. the proportion of eligible addresses where a questionnaire was completed by at least one adult in eligible addresses, was 25%. On Health Survey for England (HSE) 2019 an equivalent household response rate of 60% was achieved.  

In total, 5,778 adults completed the survey. Once ineligible addresses are removed, the adjusted individual-level response rate was 17%. Of the 4,465 households responding to the survey, 27% of questionnaires were completed by one responding adult from single occupancy households; and 70% of questionnaires were completed by two responding adults from multiple occupancy households. [16]

Table 2 compares the age and sex profiles of the 5,749 [17] responding adults (2,390 men and 3,359 women) in the HSE FS sample with the 8,204 adults (3,674 men and 4,530 women) responding to HSE 2019.  42% of the responding unweighted sample of adults for the HSE FS were men and 58% were women. This underrepresentation of men is similar to that seen in HSE 2019 (45% of the HSE 2019 unweighted sample were men and 55% women).

Overall, the age profile of the Health Survey for England Feasibility Study (HSE FS) and HSE 2019 samples of adult responders were similar. In both, younger age groups were underrepresented compared with older age groups: 5% and 9% respectively for those aged 16 to 24, and 21% and 15% respectively for those aged 65 to 74.

The age profile of men responding to the HSE FS was older than in HSE 2019:  5% of the HSE FS sample of men were aged 16 to 34 compared with 9% in HSE 2019. Conversely, 17% of men who responded were aged 65 and older in the HSE FS compared with 13% in HSE 2019. The age profile of women responding to the HSE FS was very similar to HSE 2019 though slightly lower in the youngest age group (3% of women responders were aged 16 to 24 compared with 5% in HSE 2019). 

The HSE FS responding sample underrepresented adults living in the most deprived areas compared with those living in the least deprived areas (13% and 26% respectively). This pattern was not evident in HSE 2019 where similar proportions of adults across area deprivation groups responded to the survey (between 19% and 21%).  

The HSE FS and HSE 2019 responding samples were predominantly from white ethnic backgrounds (93% and 86% respectively).

There was some variation in the regional profile of the HSE FS and HSE 2019 responding samples. The proportion responding in the North East was lower in the HSE FS (5% of the responding sample was from North East compared with 9% in HSE 2019). In the HSE FS, response was higher among those living in the South East and South West compared to HSE 2019 (19% of the responding sample in the HSE FS was from South East and 13% from the South West, compared with 16% from the South East and 9% from the South West in HSE 2019).

There was also some variation in the housing tenure of the HSE FS and HSE 2019 responding samples. The HSE FS sample contained a higher proportion of outright owners (46% compared with 37% of the HSE 2019 sample) and a lower proportion of renters (21% compared with 31%).

Further information is available from Table 3.

Table 4 shows the response rates by mode of completion. Of the 5,749 adults completing the survey, 70% (4,051) did so online and 30% (1,698) completed a paper questionnaire. There was no overall difference between men and women in the mode of completion.

Further information is available from Table 4.  

However, there was a marked difference according to age. In all age groups except the oldest (75 and over), a higher proportion completed the survey online rather than on paper. 42% of those aged 75 and over completed the survey online compared with between 65% and 84% in the other age groups.

Further information is available from Table 5.  

There was some variation by area characteristics. [18] A higher proportion of those living in the least deprived quintile completed the survey online rather than on paper (75% and 25%).

Further information is available from Table 8.  

In each ethnic group, a higher proportion of adults completed the survey online rather than on paper (between 63% and 74% did so).

Further information is available from Table 9.  

Participants were asked whether they would be willing to be visited by a nurse to take measurements and complete another questionnaire. Overall, 52% of adults agreed to a nurse visit, with similar proportions of men and women agreeing (53% and 52%). In HSE 2019, the overall nurse agreement rate was higher at 85% Further information is available from Table 13.    

Agreement to a nurse visit increased with age from 33% of those aged 16 to 24 (36% for men and 32% for women) and was 56% to 58% amongst men and women aged 55 and older.

Further information is available from Tables 5, 6 and 7.  

Agreement to the nurse visit varied by area characteristics. Agreement rates were higher among those living in the least deprived quintile (57%) compared with the most deprived quintile (45%). A similar pattern was seen in HSE 2019 (86% compared with 82%).

Further information is available from Table 8. 

Participants were asked for separate consents to link their data to health records data (including Hospital Episodes Statistics and Cancer Registry) and to Civil Registration Mortality data.

Overall agreement to data linkage was high (80% for linkage to health records and 79% for linkage to mortality data) with no significant difference between men and women.

Further information is available from Tables 5,6,7.

In HSE 2019 the equivalent data linkage agreement rates were higher than on the HSE FS: 96% for agreement to health records data and 93% for agreement to mortality data. 

Further information is available from Table 12.

In the HSE FS, agreement for both linkage consents was highest amongst those in the older age groups and lowest amongst younger adults. Agreement to health record linkage was 73% among those aged 16 to 24 and 81% amongst those aged 75 and over. The proportions agreeing to linkage to mortality data were 68% and 81% for the same age groups.

Further information is available from Tables 5, 6, 7.

Data linkage agreement rates were higher among those living in the least deprived quintile: 82% for linkage to health records and 83% for linkage to mortality data. Equivalent agreement rates for adults in the most deprived quintile were 73% and 69%. This pattern was not evident in HSE 2019.  

Further information is available from Table 8.

Participants were asked whether they would be happy to be re-contacted for follow-up research.

Overall, 69% of HSE FS participants agreed to being re-contacted compared with 77% in HSE 2019.

Further information is available from Table 12.

There was no difference in consent rates between men and women but following the pattern already described, agreement was lowest amongst those aged 16 to 24 (54%) compared with between 64% to 73% in the other age groups. 

Further information is available from Tables 5, 6 and 7.

Similarly, there was variation by area deprivation level. Adults living in the most deprived quintile were less likely to agree to recontact for follow-up research than those in the least deprived quintile (65% and 73%). This pattern was also seen in HSE 2019.

Further information is available from Table 8.

The stage one survey identified 1,301 children aged 0 to 15. Of these, 690 had parents who agreed to be re-contacted for stage 2 [19].[20]

Of the 690 parents or children approached to take part, completed questionnaires were received from 372 (54%) children or their parents. Of all those who responded to stage two, 53% were boys (199) and 47% (173) were girls.  

In the HSE FS sample there was a slightly lower proportion of children in the youngest age group than in HSE 2019 (22% and 26% respectively for boys and 21% and 25% respectively for girls).

As such, there was a higher proportion of boys in the older 2 age groups in the HSE FS than in HSE 2019 (20% and 17% respectively for those aged 8 to 12; and 11% and 8% respectively for those aged 13 to 15).

There was less variation between the 2 surveys in the unweighted sample of older girls (16% in both for those aged 8 to 12; and 9% and 8% respectively for those aged 13 to 15).

Further information is available from Table 13.