DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-8834-1
title: Scottish Health Survey, 2020: Telephone Survey
title: Scottish Health Survey, 1995-
title: SHeS

description: The &lt;i&gt;Scottish Health Survey&lt;/i&gt; (SHeS) series was established in 1995. Commissioned by the Scottish Government Health Directorates, the series provides regular information on aspects of the public's health and factors related to health which cannot be obtained from other sources. The SHeS series was designed to:&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;estimate the prevalence of particular health conditions in Scotland;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these health conditions and to document the pattern of related health behaviours;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;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;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;monitor trends in the population's health over time;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;make a major contribution to monitoring progress towards health targets.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;Each survey in the series includes a set of core questions and measurements (height and weight and, if applicable, blood pressure, waist circumference, urine and saliva samples), plus modules of questions on specific health conditions that vary from year to year. Each year the core sample has also been augmented by an additional boosted sample for children. Since 2008 NHS Health Boards have also had the opportunity to boost the number of adult interviews carried out in their area. &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; The Scottish Government &lt;a href="https://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-health-survey/" title="Scottish Health Survey"&gt;Scottish Health Survey&lt;/a&gt; webpages contain further information about the series, including latest news and publications. &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;SHeS 2020: Telephone Survey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fieldwork for the usual SHeS 2020 (the 16th face-to-face survey in the series) was suspended towards the end of March 2020 as the UK went into a nationwide lockdown at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was taken to instead collect data for some of the key measures from SHeS via a telephone survey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The specific aim of the SHeS 2020 telephone survey was to provide national level data on health, health conditions and the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these health conditions for adults over a specified period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was undertaken in order to capture data on key survey measures as quickly as possible and to add to the growing evidence base on public health during the pandemic. Of particular interest were the national indicators relevant to health including:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Wellbeing&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Healthy weight&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Health risk behaviours&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Physical activity&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Food insecurity&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The survey was intended to provide a snapshot of the health of Scotland's population, both physical and mental, during a short period within the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was shorter than the usual SHeS survey and, as such, the scope of the survey was broad rather than permitting a detailed focus on particular topic areas. In addition to interest in general health, long-term conditions and health risk behaviours, mental health (including social capital and loneliness) has also been a topic of particular interest throughout the pandemic and in turn, featured in the survey. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related risk factors (smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, obesity and alcohol use) remained a key focus.&lt;/p&gt;