Asking about Sex in General Health Surveys: Comparing the Methods and Findings of the 2010 Health Survey for England with Those of the Third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles

Below:  Item non-response (with 95% CI) for sexual health variables asked in HSE 2010, by gender and age-group

The surveys achieved similar response rates, both around 60%, and demographic profiles largely consistent with the census, although HSE participants tended to be less educated, and reported worse general health, than Natsal-3 participants. Item non-response to the sexual health questions was typically higher in HSE 2010 (range: 9–18%) relative to Natsal-3 (all <5%). Prevalence estimates for sexual risk behaviours and STI-related indicators were generally slightly lower in HSE 2010 than Natsal-3.

While a relatively high response to sexual health questions in HSE 2010 demonstrates the feasibility of asking such questions in a general health survey, differences with Natsal-3 do exist. These are likely due to the HSE’s context as a general health survey and methodological limitations such as its current use of pen-and-paper questionnaires. Methodological developments to the HSE should be considered so that its data can be interpreted in combination with those from dedicated sexual health surveys, thus improving our ability to monitor trends in sexual health.

Read more at:   http://ht.ly/QW8eY HT @ucl