Proxy reporting of health information
Shields, M.
Health Reports 15(3): 21-33
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0840-6529 PMID: 15208887 Document Number: 567531
This article documents the extent of proxy reporting in Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey (NPHS) and explores associations between reporting status and the prevalence and incidence of selected health problems. Data are from the household cross-sectional (1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99) and longitudinal (1994/95 to 2000/01) components of the NPHS. Supplemental data are from the 2000/01 Canadian Community Health Survey. Estimates of health conditions from the two cross-sectional files that are produced for each NPHS cycle were compared. The file with the lower proxy reporting rate was expected to yield higher prevalence rates. Multivariate analyses of the longitudinal data were used to examine associations between changes in reporting status and the incidence of the selected conditions. Compared with the 1998/89 General file, in which proxy reporting was more common, the 1998/99 Health file yields higher estimates of certain health conditions. Declines in proxy reporting rates over time are generally associated with greater increases in estimates. Analyses based on the longitudinal file suggest that the incidence of some conditions may also be subject to a proxy effect.