Surveys

To be included in the database, the surveys need to meet the following conditions:

• National health surveys or multi-country surveys.
• Use representative population-based samples.
• Recur at certain regular intervals (thus not once-only/one single wave).
• Not restricted to a part of the population only such as children, adolescents or patient groups.
• Not restricted to a certain health component such as nutrition or infectious diseases.

Exceptions can be made, if the survey is informative for development of survey methods and suits to the database in other ways.
 

Reference tools

The term reference tool refers to standard methods developed for health surveys. They include recommendations for data collection methods, questionnaires and measurement protocols prepared by projects, expert groups or professional associations.

The following criteria are used to decide if a reference tool will be included in the database:

• The reference tool has been developed and/or is feasible for use among the general population (e.g. not for specific patient groups only).
• The tool provides data for the European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) or other clearly defined health indicators.
• The tool concerns at least one major public health problem (policy relevance).
• There is sound theoretical, epidemiological and/or clinical background for the tool.
• The reference tool has been used and evaluated in several European countries, cultures or languages.
• There is some evidence on validity and reliability of data collected with the tool in general population samples.