Scottish Health Survey (SHeS)
Measures describe a question asked to a participant during a survey or an item of information requested from a manager when they fill out a data return. For example, ‘Who do you live with?’ is a measure and the possible responses might be, mother, father, brother, sister etc.
| Question/Data item wording | Response scale wording | Need OR provision OR receipt | Description of measure | Start Year | Age of interest | Age from | Age to | Informant | Multiple rater | Reporting term | Sweep title | Standard instrument | Notes | Physical health measures | Dataset | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ASK ALL aged 4-15 who are carers |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks |
Provision; | Support carer receives aged 4-15 | 2022 | 4-15 | 4 | 15 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
In total, how many hours each week approximately do you spend providing any regular help or support? |
INTERVIEWER: Include care provided both inside and outside the household. |
Provision; | Hours per week respondent providing care | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
ASK ALL 16+ who are carers |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks or |
Provision; | Support carer receives aged 16+ | 2022 | 16-120 | 16 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Has your employment been affected by the help or support you give the (person/people) that you currently care for in any of these ways? Please read out the numbers that apply |
1 Been unable to take up employment [RG191] |
Provision; | Effect on employment from caring | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
How long have you been providing this care for (him/her/them)? |
1 Less than one year |
Provision; | How long respondent has provided care | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
In total, how many hours each week approximately do you spend providing any regular help or support? |
INTERVIEWER: Include care provided both inside and outside the household. |
Provision; | Hours per week respondent providing care | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for outside your household? |
1 Parent/parent-in-law [RG16c1] |
Provision; | Who participant cares for outside household | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who else do you provide regular help or care for? |
1-12 Person numbers of household members |
Provision; | Who else participant cares for | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for? |
Code the first person here. |
Provision; | Who participant cares for | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Apart from anything you do as part of paid employment, do you look after, or give any regular help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either long-term physical, mental ill-health, disability; or problems related to old age? |
1 Yes |
Provision; | Whether participant is unpaid carer | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Please look at this card. There has been a lot of talk about health and income. We would like to get some idea of your household’s income. This card shows various possible |
1 Earnings from employment or self-employment (incl. overtime, tips, bonuses) [SrcInc1] |
Provision; | Receipt of carer's allowance | 2022 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2022 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
ASK ALL aged 4-15 who are carers |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks |
Provision; | Support carer receives aged 4-15 | 2023 | 4-15 | 4 | 15 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
ASK ALL 16+ who are carers |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks or |
Provision; | Support carer receives aged 16+ | 2023 | 16-120 | 16 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Has your employment been affected by the help or support you give the (person/people) that you currently care for in any of these ways? Please read out the numbers that apply |
1 Been unable to take up employment [RG191] |
Provision; | Effect on employment from caring | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
How long have you been providing this care for (him/her/them)? |
1 Less than one year |
Provision; | How long respondent has provided care | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for outside your household? |
1 Parent/parent-in-law [RG16c1] |
Provision; | Who participant cares for outside household | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who else do you provide regular help or care for? |
1-12 Person numbers of household members |
Provision; | Who else participant cares for | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for? |
Code the first person here. |
Provision; | Who participant cares for | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Apart from anything you do as part of paid employment, do you look after, or give any regular help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either long-term physical, mental ill-health, disability; or problems related to old age? |
1 Yes |
Provision; | Whether participant is unpaid carer | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Please look at this card. There has been a lot of talk about health and income. We would like to get some idea of your household’s income. This card shows various possible |
1 Earnings from employment or self-employment (incl. overtime, tips, bonuses) [SrcInc1] |
Provision; | Receipt of carer's allowance | 2023 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2023 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
ASK ALL aged 4-15 who are carers (IF RG15New=Yes THEN) What kind of support, if any, do you personally receive as a carer to help with the care that you provide? |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks |
Provision; | Support received to help with caring aged 4-15 | 2024 | 4-15 | 4 | 15 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Please look at this card. There has been a lot of talk about health and income. We would like to get some idea of your household’s income. This card shows various possible sources of income. Can you please tell me which of these you (and your husband/wife/partner) receive? |
1 Earnings from employment or self-employment (incl. overtime, tips, bonuses) [SrcInc1] |
Provision; | Receipt of carer's allowance | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
ASK ALL 16+ who are carers (IF RG15new=Yes) THEN What kind of support, if any, do you personally receive as a carer to help with the care that you provide? |
1 Short breaks or respite e.g. day time breaks, overnight breaks or |
Provision; | Support received to help with caring aged 16+ | 2024 | 16-120 | 16 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Has your employment been affected by the help or support you give the (person/people) that you currently care for in any of these ways? Please read out the numbers that apply from the card. |
1 Been unable to take up employment [RG191] |
Provision; | Effect on employment from caring | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
How long have you been providing this care for (him/her/them)? |
1 Less than one year |
Provision; | Length of time respondent providing care | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
In total, how many hours each week approximately do you spend providing any regular help or support? |
1 Up to 4 hours a week |
Provision; | Hours per week respondent providing care | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for outside your household? |
1 Parent/parent-in-law [RG16c1] |
Provision; | Who outside of household provides care for | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who else do you provide regular help or care for? |
1-12 Person numbers of household members |
Provision; | Who else respondent provides care for | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Who is it that you provide regular help or care for? |
1-12 Person numbers of household members |
Provision; | Who respondent provides care for | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS | |||
Apart from anything you do as part of paid employment, do you look after, or give any regular help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either long-term physical, mental ill-health, disability; or problems related to old age? |
1 Yes |
Provision; | Whether respondent is a carer | 2024 | 4-120 | 4 | 120 | Participant | No | Current | Scottish Health Survey 2024 Main Questionnaire documentation | No | SHeS |
Overview
Aims
SHeS provides a detailed, repeatable picture of the health of people living in private households in Scotland—estimating the prevalence of conditions (especially cardiovascular disease), measuring key risk factors and health‑related behaviours, monitoring trends over time, and enabling comparisons across regions and population subgroups to inform policy and targets. After one‑off surveys in 1995, 1998 and 2003, SHeS has run annually since 2008
Institution
Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen)
Geographic coverage - Nations
Scotland;
Start date
1995
Minimum age at recruitment
0
Sample Size
6,577
Sample
Study design
Repeated cross‑sectional household survey
Sample details
SHeS samples private households and is designed to be representative at national level every year; estimates for NHS Health Boards and local authorities are produced by combining four consecutive years of data. The survey uses a two‑stage clustered design drawn from the Postcode Address File, with an additional boost sample of children (in recent years selected via CHI linkage). Since returning to standard operations post‑pandemic, interviews are primarily face‑to‑face, with standardized height/weight and a biological module taken in a subset; telephone interviews are retained as a contingency (without measurements). Core topics are asked annually, with rotating modules to cover additional health issues.
Sex
All
Sample Characteristics
General population
Sample size at most recent sweep
2024 sweep: interviews completed in 3,737 households, with 4,591 adults (16+) and 1,986 children (0–15). Fieldwork was primarily in‑home face‑to‑face with a telephone contingency; the child boost used Community Health Index (CHI) linkage to efficiently identify households with children.
Data
Individual data available (e.g. upon special request)?
Yes
Data Access Level
Mixed - open source and restricted access (on application)
Data Access
Primary microdata access: via the UK Data Service (series and annual datasets)
https://datacatalogue.ukdataservice.ac.uk/?Search=Scottish+Health+Survey
Scottish Government guidance (routes to reports, open data, and the UK Data Service series)
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-survey-access-our-data/
Linked SHeS–health records dataset (secure access in the National Safe Haven)
https://healthdatagateway.org/dataset/1377
Regional variable present?
Yes
Local Authority variable present?
Yes
Complementary Data
Linked administrative health data
Mapping/spatial data: SIMD by Data Zone
Population denominators
Genetic Data Collected
Linked Data
Linked SHeS–health records data are available in Scotland’s National Safe Haven (Public Health Scotland/eDRIS)
HDR UK Innovation Gateway
Additional information
Website
https://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-health-survey/
Notes
Related Measures
accidents/CPR, Biomarkers / clinical measures, caring, COVID‑19, CVD and other long‑term conditions, Dental health, Diet & nutrition, Mental health & wellbeing, Physical activity, respiratory, Socio‑demographics, Substance use,
Study Code
SHeS
Reference paper(s)
Nguyen, D.T., Donnelly, M., Hoang, M.V. and O’Neill, C. (2024) ‘An investigation into patterns of alcohol drinking in Scotland after the introduction of minimum unit pricing’, PLOS ONE, 19(8), pp. 1–16. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308218.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308218
Funders
Scottish Government (Population Health Directorate)