Disability Health Survey

Summary

Strengths: - This survey offers a very specific point of view on both disabled people (including those living in specialised institutions) and informal caregivers. This is very complementary with other data sources, and this is quite relevant because many informal caregivers are aged 60 and over; - The 2015 wave will focus exclusively on people aged 60 and over; - The Insee is the most reliable French institute in the field of data collection and analyses; - Linkage with the SNIIR-AM database and other administrative/tax collection databases. Weaknesses: - limited comparability from one survey to the other due to changes in methodology and the questionnaire: the 1998-2001 and 2008-09 surveys can hardly be considered as two waves of the same survey, and despite increasing comparability, the 2015 survey will be quite different from the 2008-09 one; - data dictionaries and datasets are not available in English.

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Crosssection occasional

Data gathering method
Face-to-face
Self administered questionnaire

Access to data

Conditions of access
Free downloadable files from the Centre Quételet (http://www.reseau-quetelet.cnrs.fr/spip/) (2008-09 data).

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Individual data.

Formats available
SAS

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
An initial survey, known as the Handicap-Incapacity-Dependence, was carried out between 1998 and 2001, but the Disability Health Survey conducted in 2008-09 was quite different, especially because the international definition/classification for handicaps greatly changed during the 2000s. In 2008-09, three samples were surveyed: - 30,000 individuals living in an ordinary household (8,000 individuals were aged 60 and over); - 9,000 people living in specialized institutions (including 3,000 people living in Old Age & Elderly Care Homes); - 5,000 informal caregivers (mean age= 58 years old). In 2015, another survey will be conducted with very similar methodology and questionnaires, but with a restriction to individuals aged 60 and over (CARE survey: Capacity, Help, Resources of Seniors). The three sample design will be reproduced: - 11,000 individuals living in an ordinary household, aged 60 and over; - 3,000 people aged 60 and over living in specialized institutions; - 5,000 informal caregivers (mean age= 58 years old).

First year of collection
2008-09

Stratification if applicable

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
national

Age range
age 18 and over

Statistical representativeness
Special group, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
Regarding health & performance, the data allow for a detailed study (of disabled people, but also of informal caregivers, regarding their quality of life, their social participation, their occupational status, etc.). The data also allow for original insight regarding the way disabilities are managed (insurance benefits, formal/informal care, specific equipment in the house/at work, etc.), as well as regarding their consequences (in terms of restrictions to social participation/work/use of public transportation, etc.). Such information is related to the topics Social Systems and Welfare, Work and Productivity, Housing and Mobility.

Linkage

Standardisation
The international comparability of collected data was quite poor in 1998-2001; it was improved in 2008-09 and even more comparability is requested for 2015.

Possibility of linkage among databases
Yes. Linkage with SNIIR-AM data, social insurances and tax collection registries.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable

Breaks
Important methodological changes have occurred between 1998-2001 and 2008-09, and to a lesser extent between 2008-09 and 2015. The 2015 wave will not be carried out by the Insee (depending of the Ministry of Economics), but by the DREES (Direction of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics, Ministry of Health). This wave will be restricted to people aged 60 and over (except for informal caregivers), and some aspects of the 2008-09 questionnaire will be deleted (especially questions dealing with social participation).

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
From 1998-2001 to 2008-09, the international definition/classification of disabilities greatly changed.

Governance

Contact information
Etienne Debauche / DREES (Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques)
Ministère des Affaires sociales et de la Santé
14, avenue Duquesne
75350 PARIS 07 SP France Phone: (+33) 01 40 56 88 22
Email: etienne.debauche(at)sante.gouv.fr
Url:

Timeliness, transparency
All data from the 2008-09 survey are available. The next wave is planned for the spring of 2015, with the first results being released at the end of 2015 and data becoming available in 2017 (the linkage with the administrative data files takes time).