The HSE was set up in 1991 to provide information about life-style and behaviour choices with the aim of improving the targeting of national health policies.
The interview survey takes approximately 60 minutes and includes height and weight measurement if the participant consents.
The nurse visit is used to collect data on medications and to collect further health examination data, such as urine, saliva or blood samples, blood pressure measurements or other measures, depending on the focus topics of that year.
For some statistics such as height, weight, overweight and obesity, smoking, general health, longstanding illness and acute sickness data from the 1990s onwards are published in trend tables.
Applications for access are accepted from members of central and local government, higher/further education and charities, for not for profit teaching and research.
^ Health Survey for England, Latest Trends Archived 17 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved September 16, 2009 4.