The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) provides a detailed picture of the health of the Scottish population in private households and is designed to make a major contribution to the monitoring of health in Scotland. It is essential for the Scottish Government's forward planning, for identifying gaps in health services provision and for identifying which groups are at particular risk of future ill-health.
Prior to the introduction of the Scottish Health Survey in 1995 there was no comprehensive picture of the health of the population, its biological characteristics or health-related behaviour available at national level, nor on how these characteristics may be changing over time. The Scottish Health Survey was therefore designed to overcome this lack of knowledge with a number of specific aims.
Previous Scottish Health Surveys were undertaken in 1995, 1998, and 2003 .
The continuous Scottish Health Survey began in January 2008 and is running continuously from 2008 - 2011. An annual report is published for each year of the survey (latest published is 2009). A contract has recently been awarded to continue the survey for for a further four years from 2012-2015. Please see the Newsflash page for further details.