An Evaluation of Chronic Disease Prevalence Data from the Health Interview Survey

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Abstract
There are many types of health data for which the affected person himself or his family are the best source of information. These fully justify health interview surveys. However, evidence from a number of studies, including the one reported on here, indicate that the chronic disease prevalence data from such surveys cannot take the place of data from medical records or direct examinations. The studies suggest that interview surveys measure chronic disease morbidity along a different axis[long dash]an axis related to the degree of impact of the morbidity on the family. The National Health Survey is continuing research on the relationship of interview reports and medical records. The paper summarizes results of a study of a sample of members of the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York and describes current study in the Southern California Medical Group.