Estimated alcohol consumption in the 1995 National Health Survey: Some methodological issues

Objective: This paper critically examines the methodology used to ascertain alcohol consumption in the 1995 Australian Bureau of Statistics National H ealth Survey (NHS). Method: The 1995 NHS was the second in a series of regular, five-yearly pop ulation surveys designed to obtain national benchmark information on a rang e of health-related issues and enable the monitoring of trends over time. T he first survey was conducted in 1989-90. In the 1995 NHS, respondents were asked about the quantity of each of seven types of alcohol consumed on up to three days of the week before the inter view day. In the 1989-90 NHS, however, respondents were asked about alcohol consumption on each of the seven days before the interview. This paper use s Unit Record Data from the 1989-90 National Health Survey to investigate t he methodology used in 1995. Results: it is shown that the estimates of alcohol consumption obtained usi ng the 1995 methodology are highly dependent on the day of the week on whic h the interviews were conducted. Conclusion: It is recommended that the 1995 methodology not be used in futu re NHS surveys. The 1989-90 methodology of seven-day retrospective diaries would seem a better choice for future National Health Surveys.