Scottish Health Survey: content review

5. Overview of the Scottish Health Survey

SHeS is an annual, national survey that provides a detailed picture of the health of the Scottish population in private households and is designed to make a major contribution to the monitoring of health in Scotland. It is used by the Scottish Government and other stakeholders for forward planning, identifying gaps in health services provision, and identifying which groups are at particular risk of future ill-health.

The aims of the survey are:

• to estimate the prevalence of particular health conditions in Scotland
• to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these health conditions and to document the pattern of related health behaviours
• to look at differences between regions and between subgroups of the population in the extent of their having these particular health conditions or risk factors, and to make comparisons with other national statistics for Scotland and England
• to monitor trends in the population's health over time
• to make a major contribution to monitoring progress towards health targets