Collection National public health survey, Health on equal terms

The Public Health Agency of Sweden annually conducts a national public health survey, Health on Equal Terms, including a sample of 20 000 people aged 16-84 years. All studies, since 2004, can be found under the tab Related studies.

The survey, which was conducted for the first time in 2004, is an on going collaboration between the The Public Health Agency of Sweden and county councils/regions in Sweden and is carried out with help from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The survey is voluntary and done with the purpose to investigate the health in the population and to show changes in the population's health over time as a follow up of the national health politics.

The sample is randomly drawn from the Statistics Sweden's population register and includes 20 000 people aged 16-84 years. The personal data is confidential and protected by law and those working with this survey are obliged to practice professional secrecy. Individual answers can not be identified in the results.

The study participants are since 2007 given the opportunity to answer the survey on the web. Since 2012, the web survey is also in English, and since 2014 also in Finnish.

The questionnaire includes about 85 questions. Each county council has its own introduction letter and the questions has been prepared in collaboration with representatives from a number of different community medicine units. The origin and quality of the questions are described in the report "Objective and background of the questions in the national public health survey". Most questions recur each year, but questions can in particular cases be replaced by other questions of good quality and national relevance.

The questions in the national public health survey cover physical and mental health, consumption of pharmaceuticals, contact with healthcare services, dental health, living habits, financial conditions, work and occupation, work environment, safety and social relationships. Data regarding education is collected from the education register, and data of income, economic support, sickness benefits and pensions from the income an taxation register. Show less..