Related Measure: Mental health measures
Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF)
HEAF is a prospective cohort study of adults in England aged 50 and over that aims to examine the relationship between extended working life and health and shed light on how best to support the well-being of older workers. Main study questions focused on the impact of common health problems (especially musculoskeletal disorders) on work capability and participation; the social, occupational, personal and medical co-factors which influence vocational outcomes among older people, and the impact of job loss on physical and psychological health.
Generation Scotland (GSSFHS)
GS:SFHS is a family-based genetic epidemiology study with DNA and socio-demographic and clinical data from 24,000 volunteers across Scotland aged 18–98 years. The breadth and depth of phenotype information collected, participants’ mechanisms for linkage of all data to comprehensive routine health-care records, and ‘broad’ consent from participants to use their data and samples for a wide range of research were designed to maximize the power of the resource to identify, replicate or control for genetic factors associated with a wide spectrum of illnesses and risk factors, both now and in the future. It has recently added on a new module called COVIDLife in which quesitons related to COVID-19 were asked to participants over three main sweeps in 2020 and 2021. There are also three young persons' sweeps and a sweep which focuses specifically on rural areas.
Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Wales (CFAS Wales)
CFAS Wales is a longitudinal study looking at health and cognitive function in older people living in Wales. The study builds on the design and infrastructure of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study collaboration (CFAS) exploring biomarkers and other early indications of risk of cognitive decline, such as imaging. It also investigates factors that may delay the onset of dementia, specifically focusing on the role of bilingualism and social networks and allow a more in-depth examination of rural-urban variations, which have been markedly unexplained in previous studies.
Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA)
As the first large scale longitudinal study of ageing in Northern Ireland, NICOLA aims to help gain a better understanding of the factors that affect social and health outcomes in the older Northern Ireland population. Over time, it will inform new prevention strategies, new interventions, new models of health and social care delivery, and ultimately contribute to how society should change to ensure a better quality of life for all.
Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS)
The MHSDS is a patient level, output based, secondary uses data set which aims to deliver robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent and comparable person-based information for children, young people and adults who are in contact with services for mental health and wellbeing, Learning Disability, autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions. As a secondary uses data set it re-uses clinical and operational data for purposes other than direct patient care, for example: commissioning, service improvement and service design. It defines the data items, definitions and associated value sets extracted or derived from local information systems. The MHSDS brings together information captured on clinical systems as part of patient care. It covers not only services provided in hospitals but also outpatient clinics and in the community, where the majority of people in contact with these services are treated. It is mandatory for NHS funded care providers, including independent sector providers, to submit MHSDS data. Data for non-NHS funded clients can also now be submitted on an optional basis.
Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Surveys (MHCYPS)
The Surveys of the Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) are a series of national surveys of the mental health of children and young people. Each survey involves interviewing a large, stratified probability sample of children and young people, and their parents and teachers. The primary aim of the surveys is to collect robust data on a range of topics relating to the mental health of children and young people to improve understanding of the state of children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and inform the design of mental health services.
Growing Up in Scotland (GUSBC)
Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) is a longitudinal research study that tracks the lives of thousands of children and their families from the early years, through childhood and beyond. Launched in 2005, GUS has collected information on three nationally representative cohorts of children born in 2004-05 (Birth Cohort 1), 2002-03 (Child Cohort) and 2010-11 (Birth Cohort 2). This page provides information about Birth Cohort 1 (BC1). The main aim of the study is to provide new information to support policymaking in Scotland, but it is also intended to provide a resource for practitioners, academics, the voluntary sector and parents.
Scottish Census (ScoC)
Scotland’s Census is the official count of every person and household in the country. There has been a census in Scotland every 10 years since 1801, except 1941. The 2021 census in Scotland was moved to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The answers people give to census questions help build up a picture of the population. Government and other service providers rely on census data to make important decisions. These can include how money will be spent on: schools, roads, hospitals etc.
Survey of Carers in Households (SCH)
The Survey of Carers in Households was commissioned by the Department of Health as part of the Government’s Carers’ Strategy programme. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (NHS IC) undertook responsibility for this survey which was funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions. The survey collected details on the prevalence of caring in England, the demographic profile of carers, the impact of caring duties upon the carer, details of the services carers receive and a profile of the cared for people. Carers who were under 16 years of age were excluded from the Survey of Carers in Households 2009/10, as were people in communal establishments.
Stats Wales (StatWales)
Stats Wales is the Welsh Government’s free-to-use online repository for detailed statistical data for Wales. Stats Wales allows users to view and manipulate datasets on-screen, including the ability to produce charts. Data can be downloaded in a variety of formats and can be saved and shared. The system covers nearly 1,000 datasets, including key information on Wales’ population, economy, government spending and performance as well as the environment, education, transport and health.
Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II)
Since the baseline of MRC CFAS there has been an increase in life expectancy, changes in major chronic disease and potentially advances in symptomatic treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. CFAS II builds upon the design and infrastructure of MRC to investigate the implications of changes in morbidity and frailty on health itself, as well as the use of services and expenditure in health and social care on future. It also provides important baseline information on older people aged 65-84 in 2008-2011 who will reach the age of greatest frailty during the 2020’s, when the peak in the number of people aged 85 or over is expected and at a time when major therapeutic interventions for dementia could be expected to have an effect.
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children (ALSPAC)
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children (ALSPAC) is a multi-generational, population-based prospective birth cohort study. Established in the early 90s, ALSPAC follows the lives of over 14,500 people born between April 1991 and December 1992 and their family members. Children and their families have been followed intensively, primarily with annual questionnaires, as well as clinical assessments for a sub-sample of cohort members. ALSPAC was specifically designed to understand the ways in which genetic and environmental factors interact to influence health, behaviour, and development across the lifespan. The ALSPAC study has collected data using a range of methods. Mental health measures collected in postal questionnaires and from clinic assessments are detailed on the Catalogue.
Assuring Transformation (AT)
Assuring Transformation collects data to monitor the progress in moving people with learning disabilities from inpatient to community settings. Data is collected about people with a learning disability, autism or both who are getting care in hospitals for their mental health or because they have had behaviour that can be challenging. Data is collected via the NHS Digital Clinical Audit Platform (CAP) on an ongoing basis. Submitters are expected to keep data held in this system up to date and reflect changes as and when they occur. This information tells policy makers: how many people are in hospital; how long they have been in hospital for; when their care and treatment is checked; what kind of hospital they are in.
1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study. Original aims were to examine the social and biological characteristics of the mother in relation to neonatal morbidity, and to compare the results with the 1958 National Child Development Study. With each successive sweep, the scope of the enquiry has broadened from a strictly medical focus at birth, to encompass physical, educational, social and economic development.
Adult Social Care Survey (ASCS)
The ASCS asks service users questions about quality of life and what impact care ans support services have on their quality of life. The survey is conducted annually and is conducted by Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs). The survey seeks the opinions of service users aged 18 and over in receipt of long-term support services funded or managed by social services and is designed to help the adult social care sector understand more about how services are affecting lives to enable choice and for informing service development.
1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS)
The 1958 National Child Development Study is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of over 17,000 people born in 1958. The study aims to improve understanding of the factors affecting human development over the whole lifespan. Follows histories of health, wealth, education, family and employment from early life with linked biomedical and examination performance data integrated into the study.
Health Survey for England (HSE)
The Health Survey for England monitors trends in the nation’s health and care, providing information about adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England. Each survey includes core questions (e.g. about smoking, alcohol, general health); measurements such as height, weight, and blood pressure; and analysis of blood and saliva samples. In addition, there are question modules on specific topics that vary from year to year.
Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of around 19,000 young people born in the United Kingdom in 2000-01. This multidisciplinary survey aims to capture the influence of early family context on child development and outcomes. Children from minority ethnic backgrounds and children in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland are oversampled to help capture the diversity of backgrounds into which children are born in the beginning of the 21st century.
Newcastle 85+ (N85)
The Newcastle 85+ Study is the world’s largest population-based longitudinal study of health and ageing in the over-85s. The study aims to assess the spectrum of health in the oldest old, identify factors which contribute to the maintenance of health and independence and advance understanding of the biological nature of human ageing.
Understanding Society – UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS)
Understanding Society is a largescale longitudinal survey of approximately 40,000 households across the United Kingdom. As a multi-topic household survey, the purpose of Understanding Society is to understand social and economic change in Britain at the household and individual levels by capturing important information about the social and economic circumstances, attitudes and behaviours and health of people living in thousands of households. The Understanding Society study is a successor to the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), with the BHPS sample forming part of Understanding Society from Wave 2 onwards.