4363.0.55.001 - Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011-13
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/06/2013
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HEALTH CONDITIONS
In addition to these, the NHS collects information on the following 5 NHPA conditions:
NHS also collects information on sight and hearing and other long-term conditions. Note that mental health conditions are collected within the long-term conditions module but have additional questions specific to NHPA conditions. In the NHPA conditions and kidney disease modules, respondents are specifically asked whether they have been diagnosed. Respondents are also asked whether the condition is current and long-term except where an assumption is made (e.g. cancers are considered to be long-term if they are identified as current). This is discussed in more detail in the individual sections on these conditions later in this chapter. Each reported condition was then classified into the following condition status output categories:
Respondents without a condition are classified into category 5: never told, not current or long-term. An additional category '4: not known if ever told or not ever told, but condition current and long-term' is also used in the NHS where respondents are not asked about diagnosis. It is specifically used for sight and hearing conditions as well as any other long-term health conditions reported which had lasted, or were expected to last, for six months or more. Category 4 also applies to conditions in NHS where NHPA conditions or kidney disease were reported in the long-term conditions module and did not trigger a diagnosis question. Condition prevalence is usually reported based on categories 1 and 4 (where applicable in NHS), i.e. that the condition is current and long-term. Current long-term conditions are defined as medical conditions (illnesses, injuries or disabilities) which were current at the time of the survey and which had lasted at least six months, or which the respondent expected to last for six months or more, including:
In addition to the above conditions, NHS and NNPAS collected information on self-assessed health and female life stages, and NHS also collected information on disabilities and whether reported conditions (in conditions modules) are caused by injuries. Classification of conditions Conditions reported by respondents were coded to a single list of approximately 1000 specific condition and condition group categories (referred to as the "1000 input code list" in this publication). This list covers the more common types of long-term conditions experienced in the Australian community. The list was initially developed by the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney, in consultation with the ABS, for the 2001 NHS. The detailed output classification used for NHS was developed by the ABS based on mapping between the 1000 input code list and ICD10 provided by the Family Medicine Research Centre. The classification takes into account:
While information from the 10TH REVISION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF DISEASES (ICD10) was used in the development of this list, results are generally not available classified to the most detailed condition level based on ICD10. As the data are from a sample survey, there are not enough observations to support reliable estimates at that level of detail. A computer-based coding system was developed by the ABS based on this list, and interviewers were able to select from it using a trigram coder which was built into the CAI instruments. Predefined response categories in the questionnaires were allocated unique codes within the 1000 input code list. For the majority of conditions, interviewers were able to select the appropriate condition from either category responses for questions or from a trigram coder attached to ‘other’ response categories. Where the interviewer could not find the condition in the coder or the condition name was not known at the time of the interview, efforts were made to ensure that the description of each condition which was recorded at interview was as precise and informative as possible, to enable detailed, accurate and consistent coding of conditions. Copies of the standard classifications of medical conditions available from the NHS and a reduced classification produced specifically for NNPAS and the core output, are contained in Appendix 2: Classification of medical conditions. Points to consider
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