• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

OTHER ACTIONS FOR SELECTED CONDITIONS

Definition

This topic refers to information collected about condition-specific actions that respondents may have taken in relation to certain long-term condition(s). The actions described here differ from the generic actions described in the ‘Actions for specific conditions’ section of this Users' Guide.

Population

Some questions about actions taken were asked only of respondents with a particular condition, while other questions were asked of all persons in the NHS and of other subsets of persons. These are described below.

Methodology

Respondents were asked about the following condition-specific actions.

Asthma

Within the Asthma module, the following information was collected.

• whether their asthma had got worse or out of control in the last 12 months and if so whether the respondent went to a hospital or emergency department;
• whether the respondent had a written action plan; that is, written instructions of what to do if their asthma becomes worse or out of control;
• whether the respondent had been woken by asthma or wheezing in the last 4 weeks; and
• the number of times in the last 4 weeks the respondent's asthma interfered with daily activities.

• Whether the respondent takes aspirin on a daily basis and if so, whether this was advised by their doctor. These questions were asked of respondent 18 years and over.
• Whether the respondent had had their cholesterol checked, in the last 5 years and in the last 12 months. This question was asked of respondents aged 18-44 years with a heart or circulatory condition, and of all respondents aged 45 years and over.
• Whether the respondent's blood pressure had been checked, in the last 2 years and in the last 12 months, and who usually performs their blood pressure checks. This question was asked of respondents with a heart or circulatory condition and, of all respondents aged 18 years and over whether they had a heart or circulatory condition or not.

• Whether any parent(s) or sibling(s) of the respondent has ever been told they have diabetes. This question was asked of all respondents, whether they had diabetes or not.
• Whether the respondent had been screened for diabetes in the last 3 years. This question was asked if a respondent reported a heart or circulatory condition, or was aged 50 years and over and did not have diabetes or high sugar levels.

• frequency of blood glucose checks in the last 12 months;
• frequency of foot checks in the last 12 months;
• whether they were currently taking insulin every day, and if so, the age at which they started taking insulin on a daily basis;
• whether they were currently following changed eating patterns or diet due to diabetes/high sugar levels;
• self-management actions taken for diabetes which could include:
  • losing weight;
  • exercising on most days;
  • taking vitamin or mineral supplements;
  • taking natural or herbal treatments; and,
  • other (unspecified) actions.
• whether they had had an HbA1c test done in the last 12 months;
• time since last consulted an eye specialist/optometrist; and
• whether any sight conditions reported were caused by diabetes.

• weight/strength/resistance training;
• obtaining and/or using physical aids for home or work;
• water therapy;
• massage;
• changing eating patterns/diet;
• losing weight;
• exercising on most days; and,
• other (unspecified) actions.

• whether they had ever had their bone mineral density tested, and if yes, whether the test had been taken in the last 2 years.

• whether they had taken any of the following medications in the last 2 weeks:
  • sleeping tablets or capsules;
  • tablets or capsules for anxiety or nerves;
  • tranquillisers;
  • antidepressants;
  • mood stabilisers; and,
  • other medications for mental health.

• whether they, or someone else, regularly check their skin for changes in freckles and moles; and
• whether they had ever been tested for any type of cancer, and if so, if it was in the last 2 years. If they had been tested, they were asked for the type of cancer they had been tested for:
  • for males, bowel cancer, prostate cancer or other; and
  • for females, bowel cancer, breast cancer (that is, had a mammogram) or other.

• whether they were currently receiving treatment for the cancer.

• as with other aspects of health behaviour, some respondents may have answered some questions in a way that they felt presented their behaviour as more responsible or acceptable than was actually the case. (e.g. in relation to frequency of testing blood glucose levels). The extent of such reporting biases have not been investigated for this survey.