Punctual or aperiodic

The 2002-2003 survey took place from October 2002 to September 2003, in five waves staggered throughout this period: the national sample is thus divided into five sub-samples (called waves) of households, in order to ensure that the summer period was also covered.

Each household is visited three times by an investigator. These visits are spread over a period of two months. Every individual in the household is questioned.

The computer-assisted data collection method (CAPI) is used. Each member of the surveyed household aged 18 and over is also asked to complete a treatment record booklet and a questionnaire ("self-administered" or "self-questionnaire"), which is used to record a certain amount of information about specific pathologies (alcohol, migraines, asthma, depression, lower back pain, etc.) or about the quality of life.

Shorter versions of the self-questionnaire are submitted to interviewees aged 11 to 14 and those aged 15 to 17.

The survey is organised in such a way that the adults concerned are present at each visit because, in contrast to the previous surveys, the questioning of adults is strictly individual: another person cannot answer for them.

Furthermore, it is essential for households to be interviewed three times.

Upon the first visit to the household, the individual interview focuses in particular on illnesses, health problems, contact and use of health care providers health's limitations and disabilities.

The second and third visits concern reminders of the instructions on how to fill in the treatment record booklets (collective booklet and individual booklets issued on the investigator's first visit), which must be completed by members of the household, and the importance of keeping the packaging of purchased medication and prescriptions is also stressed.

During the course of each visit, a proxy is designated for the under-eighteens, adults incapable of responding individually (disabled or bed-bound persons) and people who are absent for health reasons.

Data collecting takes place approximately every 10 years.

 The 2002-2003 Health Survey had five regional extensions in:
- Nord-Pas-de-Calais;
- Picardie;
- Champagne-Ardenne;
- Île-de-France;
- Provence-Alpes-Côte-D'azur.

Face to face by interviewer

Household

The sample for the 2002-2003 Health Survey consists of 25,000 dwellings (18,000 for the national sample and 7,000 for regional extensions), selected from the INSEE master sample (derived from the population census), and supplemented by the New Housing Survey Database (BSLN).

All in all, approximately 16,800 households responded to this survey, giving an approximate total of 40,900 people in the population of responding households ("eligible" individuals, i.e. people over 18 years of age).