3 December th meeting of the Task Force on Health Expectancies Session 2 – Improving currently HLY estimates Update on data collection (SILC)

3 December th meeting of the Task Force on Health Expectancies 2 Health variables in SILC Minimum European Health Module (MEHM): –self-perceived health –longstanding illness or condition –limitation in activities Unmet need for medical examination or treatment Main reason for unmet need for medical examination or treatment Unmet need for dental examination or treatment Main reason for unmet need for dental examination or treatment

3 December th meeting of the Task Force on Health Expectancies quality assessment of all health questions in SILC: data and questionnaires (1 st exercise in 2006 on first data) National questionnaires with PH010 to PH070 questions collected from nearly all MS, from the 1st year of implementation to 2007 National questionnaires sent to all EHIS delegates from MS, for checking Analysis and synthesis by Eurostat of the checking done by the EHIS delegates in all MS Examples of problems found in national SILC questions: –order of questions PH 020 and PH030 reversed –question PH030 filtered by question PH020 –question PH030 with only 2 answer categories (instead of 3) –use of an incorrect time reference in question PH030: « during the past 6 months » instead of « for at least the past 6 months » –incorrect reference in question PH030 as concerns the activities people usually do

3 December th meeting of the Task Force on Health Expectancies 4 Information of the Eurostat Statistics Living Conditions Working Group (in charge of SILC - June 2007) in order at national level to: –Solve remaining problems and harmonise national questionnaires with the EHIS –Ensure a continuous coordination with the EHIS national delegates Eurostat sent on 25/10/2007 to MS the “Guidelines for the health questions in SILC”: –To have all national SILC questionnaires fully harmonised from 2008 onwards –Using as far as necessary the EHIS conceptual cards, guidelines and questions 2007 quality assessment of all 7 health questions in SILC: data and questionnaires

3 December th meeting of the Task Force on Health Expectancies 5 Guidelines: improvement of the harmonisation of the health questions in SILC based on EHIS questions PH010: "fair" to be translated into a neutral term (nor good, nor bad) PH020: –"longstanding”; can be repeated before all terms –explanation on the 6 months duration can be included –before PH030 and doesn't filter it PH030 : –“activities people usually do” –“severely” –reference to the past 6 months shall be indicated first –identification of severe and mild cases separately