Places to find data relating to the unmet health and social care of older people
Sources of data
Global/large databases
World Health Survey (WHS) - SAGE
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa
Description
Building on the 2000-01 WHO Multi-Country Survey Study, the World Health Surveys (WHS) were launched by the World Health Organization to strengthen national capacity to monitor critical health outcomes and health systems through the fielding of a valid, reliable, and comparable household survey instrument. The WHS was implemented between 2002 and 2004 in countries selected to represent all regions of the world. Study samples were nationally representative and probabilistically selected. Sampling weights were generated and adjusted for the population distribution with final post-stratification corrections for non-response. The total sample size, using nationally representative samples, includes over 300,000 individuals aged 18+ years. WHS also serves as SAGE Wave 0.
Household data includes a household roster, health insurance coverage, health expenditures, and indicators of permanent income or wealth.
Individual level data include sociodemographic information, health state descriptions, health state valuation, risk factors, chronic conditions, mortality, health care utilization, health systems responsiveness and social capital.
Demographic and Health Surveys Program (DHS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Congo Democratic Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Deminican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethniopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Hailti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria (including Ondo State), Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tabago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Description
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) is a database holding datasets from nationally-representative household surveys that provide data for a wide range of monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition.
Connecting Australian-European Science and Innovation Excellence (CAESIE)
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Germany, Australia
Description
Funded by the EU Commission. Aims to promote and develop collaborations in science, innovation, and technology enterprise and research to develop solutions that challenge our societies: eg health technologies for ageing populations.
Global Aging Data Repository/Gateway to Global Aging
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Global
Description
A platform for population survey data on aging around the world. A free public resource designed to facilitate cross-national and longitudinal studies on aging using the family of health and retirement studies around the world.
European Health for All database (HFA)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
United Kindom, Scotland, Portugal, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Geogia, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Israel, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Republic of Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Austria
Description
HFA databases bring together the indicators that are part of major monitoring frameworks relevant to the Region, such as Health 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The indicators cover basic demographics, health status, health determinants and risk factors, as well as health care resources, expenditures and more.
Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprys, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg
Description
The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a research infrastructure for studying the effects of health, social, economic and environmental policies over the life course of European citizens and beyond.
Global Health Data exchange (GHDx)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Global
Description
A catalogue of surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related data.
International Health Policy Surveys
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States
Description
The Commonwealth Fund's international program conducts annual surveys of patients and clinicians in 11 high-income countries. The surveys delve into financial barriers to care, chronic disease management, and satisfaction with care, among other topics.
Unicefs Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Global
Description
Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys programme, known as MICS, has become the largest source of statistically sound and internationally comparable data on children and women worldwide. Trained fieldwork teams conduct face-to-face interviews with household members on a variety of topics – focusing mainly on those issues that directly affect the lives of children and women. MICS is an integral part of plans and policies of many governments around the world, and a major data source for more than 30 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators. The MICS programme continues to evolve with new methodologies and initiatives, including MICS Plus, MICS Link, MICS GIS and the MICS Tabulator.
The Healthy Ageing Toolkit
EXCLUSIVELY OLDER POPULATION DATA
Included countries
287 counties
Description
The Healthy Ageing Toolkit is a searchable cohort information repository that includes information about ageing cohort studies across the globe designed to support the study of healthy ageing and its trajectories, as well as inequities in healthy ageing.
Though unmet care need is not a searchable topic within the repository it does include cohorts that may be of interest.
European region only databases
The Irish LongituDinal Study on Aging (TILDA)
OLDER POPULATION SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Ireland
Description
The Irish LongituDinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a large-scale, nationally representative, longitudinal study on ageing in Ireland. TILDA collects information on all aspects of health, economic and social circumstances from adults in Ireland in a series of data collection waves once every two years. TILDA is unique among longitudinal studies in the breadth of physical, mental health and cognitive measures collected.
Scottish Health Survey (SHeS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Scotland
Description
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.
Health Survey for England
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
United Kingdom
Description
The Health Survey for England monitors trends in the nation’s health and care, providing information about adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England.
Public Health and Care
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Netherlands
Description
Collects data on socio-economic disparities and a number of diseases, perceived health status, daily functioning, lifestyle, (healthy) life expectancy, and health determinants. It focuses on different levels of education.
Health Survey
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
France
Description
The purpose of the Health Survey is to describe the population's health status: declared morbidity and perceived health. To provide quantitative information about the use of care facilities and prevention services (in volume and value). Allow an analysis of health status, use of care facilities and prevention, with regard to the socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, profession, etc.) of individuals and their households.
German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Germany
Description
The aim of the DEGS survey is to repeatedly collect representative data on the health status, health-related behaviour, healthcare and living conditions of adults residing in Germany who are aged 18 and over. The data provides information on the most widespread diseases, health risk factors and healthcare problems.
German Health Update (GEDA)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Germany
Description
The survey focuses on the following subjects: subjective health, the prevalence of diseases, accidents, mental health, functional limitations, health-related behaviour (e.g. utilization of vaccinations, diet, physical activities), risk factors (e.g. alcohol consumption, smoking), and socio-demographic characteristics (such as education, occupational status, migration background).
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELISA)
OLDER POPULATION SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
United Kingdom
Description
Longitudinal survey of people aged 50 and older. The information collected provides data about: Household and individual demographics, Health – physical and psychosocial, Social care (from Wave 6), Work and pensions, Income and assets, Housing, Cognitive function, Social participation, Effort and Reward (voluntary work and caring), Expectations, Walking speed, Weight, and other topics deemed relevant to specific years.
Region of the Americas only databases
Midlife in the United States (MIDUS)
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
United States
Description
MIDUS aims to investigate the role of behavioural, psychological, and social factors in accounting for age-related variations in health and well-being in a national sample of Americans.
Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Mexico
Description
The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is a national longitudinal study of adults 50 years and older in Mexico. The MHAS content includes: Health in multiple domains (self-report of global health, chronic conditions, symptom reports, functionality, depression, cognition), Socioeconomic conditions (work history, health insurance, health expenditures), Family background (family structure, transfer behaviours, care arrangements, health and migration histories of respondents, parents and children), Income, assets, pension history, current housing, and quality of the built environment, Major events over the last 10 years (only in 2012 - change of residence, major health event, natural disaster, or crime event), Time use and psychosocial aspects (locus of control, life satisfaction, loneliness, and conscientiousness), For deceased study participants (last year of life: major events, use of health services, care received, and functionality), and Sub-sample for biomarkers, anthropometrics, and performance measures (only in 2012).
Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
United States
Description
America's Longest-Running Study of Human Aging. The National Institute on Aging’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) answers critical questions about what happens as people get older. The BLSA measures: Changes that occur over the aging process; Biological, behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors that account for these changes. Potential predictors and risk factors for specific diseases, frailty, and other end-points reflecting success or failure to adapt to ageing. Possible targets for interventions that may positively affect aspects of the ageing process and prevent age-related diseases. Factors that predict healthy ageing across the life span.
Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Canada
Description
The objective of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is to gather information that will help improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and to promote the health and wellness of Canadians.
U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
United States
Description
A longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of approximately 20,000 people in America, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA U01AG009740) and the Social Security Administration. The HRS measures: Health status, Health care utilization, health care costs, Functional limitations, Cognition, Expectations, Family structure, Housing, Work, Health and Life insurance, Internet use, Physical measure and biomarkers, Disability, Psycho-social, as well as Family and Demographic.
Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Canada
Description
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) initiative began in 2000 with its main goals being the provision of population-level information on health determinants, health status and health system utilization. This series of surveys is a joint effort of Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
United States
Description
The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has monitored the health of the nation since 1957. NHIS data on a broad range of health topics are collected through personal household interviews. Survey results have been instrumental in providing data to track health status, healthcare access, and progress toward achieving national health objectives.
Western Pacific region only databases
Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
China
Description
The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) aims to collect a high-quality nationally representative sample of Chinese residents ages 45 and older to serve the needs of scientific research on the elderly. The CHARLS questionnaire includes the following modules: demographics, family structure/transfer, health status and functioning, biomarkers, health care and insurance, work, retirement and pension, income and consumption, assets (individual and household), and community-level information.
The Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Indonesia
Description
The Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) is an on-going longitudinal survey. The sample is representative of about 83% of the Indonesian population and contains over 30,000 individuals living in 13 of the 27 provinces in the country. In all waves of the survey, detailed data were collected about respondents¹ communities and public and private facilities available for their health care and schooling. The facility data can be combined with household and individual data to examine the relationship between, for example, access to health services (or changes in access) and various aspects of healthcare use and health status.
Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Japan
Description
RIETI and Hitotsubashi University jointly launched a comprehensive survey of elderly people in 2007 to collect panel data on their lives and health, with the University of Tokyo joining from 2009 onward. The data collected in this survey include diverse information on the economic, social, and health conditions of elderly people. In addition, the survey is designed to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, comparability with preceding surveys such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States, the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in continental Europe, and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) in the United Kingdom.
Korean Longiyudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA)
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
China
Description
The purpose of KLoSA is to create the basic data needed to devise and implement effective social, and economic policies to address the trends that emerge in the process of population ageing. Topics under KLoSA are grouped into the following 7 main categories - Demographics, Family, Health, Employment, Income, Assets, Subjective Expectations and Satisfaction
Midlife in Japan (MIDJA)
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Japan
Description
MIDJA aims to investigate the role of behavioural, psychological, and social factors in accounting for age-related variations in health and well-being in a national sample. It is an additional piece of work that uses the same measures and factors as MIDUS.
National Health Survey
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The National Health Survey, run by the ABS, collects data on the health of Australians including health conditions, health risk factors and demographic and socio-economic information. It is part of a series of national health surveys by the ABS since 1977.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, run by the ABS, collects information from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on health measures. These measures include general health and wellbeing, health risk factors and health service usage.
Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, run by the University of Newcastle and the University of Queensland, is a long-term population-based study. The study looks at the physical and mental health of about 57,000 Australian women. It began in 1995 and follows 4 cohorts of women, born in 1921-26, 1946-51 and 1973-78 and 1989-95.
Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health
OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men), run by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, collects data on the health of Australian males and the factors that affect their quality of life across 3 age groups. It examines the social, economic, environmental and behavioural factors of about 16,000 Australian males aged 10–14 years; 15–17 years and 18–55 years at baseline.
Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The PHIDU provides interactive social health atlases that present Australian public health data by geographic level in maps, graphs and data tables. The atlases can display location-specific data on hundreds of indicators, for example disease prevalence, disability, health risk factors, and health service use. The information includes differences by age, sex and socio-demographic measures.
The Malaysian Family Life Survey
INCLUDES SOME OLDER PEOPLE SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Malaysia
Description
The First and Second Malaysian Family Life Surveys (MFLS-1 and MFLS-2) comprise a pair of surveys with partially overlapping samples, designed by RAND and administered in Peninsular Malaysia in 1976-1977 (MFLS-1) and 1988-1989 (MFLS-2). MFLS collected detailed current and retrospective information on family structure, fertility, economic status, education/training, transfers, migration, and many other topics. Each survey also collected community-level data. A sample of 1,357 older Malaysians, age 50 and above has been included in this study.
Jean Hailes' National Women’s Health Survey
GENERAL FEMALE POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Australia
Description
The Jean Hailes' National Women’s Health Survey is an annual national study designed to help us better understand the health information needs and behaviours of women living in Australia. We’ve sought to understand where, how and in what way women access information about their health.
Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS)
OLDER PEOPLE-SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
Taiwan
Description
The Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS) provide information regarding the health and well-being of older persons in Taiwan. SEBAS explores the relationship between life challenges and mental and physical health, the impact of social environment on the health and well-being of the elderly, as well as biological markers of health and stress. The study collected self-reports of physical, psychological, and social well-being, plus extensive clinical data based on medical examinations and laboratory analyses. Examination of health outcomes included chronic illnesses, functional status, psychological well-being, and cognitive function. Questions regarding life challenges focused on perceived stress, economic difficulties, security and safety, and the consequences of a major earthquake. Biological markers were used to identify cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic process measures, immune-system activity, the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, and sympathetic nervous system activity.
Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study (IHMHS)
GENERAL POPULATION DATA
Included countries
Auatralia
Description
The IHMHS includes 4 national studies: National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, National Health Study – including the National Health Survey and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, National Nutrition and Physical Activity Study – including the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, and the National Health Measures Study – including the National Health Measures Survey and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey.
Information collected; diagnosed and undiagnosed disease, prevalence and impact of mental health conditions, health risk factors and preventive health behaviours, food and nutrient intake, physical activity, biomedical measures (chronic disease, nutrition and environment), and health service usage for mental and general health.
South-East Asian region only databases
Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI)
OLDER PEOPLE-SPECIFIC DATA
Included countries
India
Description
Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) aims to supply the data needed to understand the situation of India’s elderly population. This evidence base will contribute to cross-national studies of aging and will inform the design of policies that can protect and support the growing elderly community. The survey instrument has been designed to collect information that is conceptually comparable to that of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and its sister surveys in Asia (i.e., the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, the Japanese Study on Aging and Retirement, and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging), but that will also capture characteristics specific to India.
African region only databases
