INDEPTH Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health 2006-2007

Purpose:
The multi-country Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) is run by the World Health Organization's Multi-Country Studies unit in the Innovation, Information, Evidence and Research Cluster. SAGE is part of the unit's Longitudinal Study Programme which is compiling longitudinal data on the health and well-being of adult populations, and the ageing process, through primary data collection and secondary data analysis. INDEPTH SAGE Wave 1 (2006/7) provides data on the health and well-being of adults in: Ghana, India and South Africa.

Objectives:
To obtain reliable, valid and comparable health, health-related and well-being data over a range of key domains for adult and older adult populations in nationally representative samples
To examine patterns and dynamics of age-related changes in health and well-being using longitudinal follow-up of a cohort as they age, and to investigate socio-economic consequences of these health changes
To supplement and cross-validate self-reported measures of health and the anchoring vignette approach to improving comparability of self-reported measures, through measured performance tests for selected health domains
To collect health examination and biomarker data that improves reliability of morbidity and risk factor data and to objectively monitor the effect of interventions

Additional Objectives:
To generate large cohorts of older adult populations and comparison cohorts of younger populations for following-up intermediate outcomes, monitoring trends, examining transitions and life events, and addressing relationships between determinants and health, well-being and health-related outcomes
To develop a mechanism to link survey data to demographic surveillance site data
To build linkages with other national and multi-country ageing studies
To improve the methodologies to enhance the reliability and validity of health outcomes and determinants data
To provide a public-access information base to engage all stakeholders, including national policy makers and health systems planners, in planning and decision-making processes about the health and well-being of older adults

Methods:

INDEPTH SAGE's first full round of data collection included persons aged 50 years and older in the health and demographic surveillance sites. All persons aged 50+ years (for example, spouses and siblings) were invited to participate. Standardized SAGE survey instruments were used in all countries consisting of two main parts: 1) household questionnaire; 2) individual questionnaire. The procedures for including country-specific adaptations to the standardized questionnaire and translations into local languages from English follow those developed by and used for the World Health Survey.

Content

Household questionnaire
0000 Coversheet
0100 Sampling Information
0200 Geocoding and GPS Information
0300 Recontact Information
0350 Contact Record
0400 Household Roster
0450 Kish Tables and Household Consent
0500 Housing
0600 Household and Family Support Networks and Transfers
0700 Assets and Household Income
0800 Household Expenditures
0900 Interviewer Observations

Individual questionnaire
1000 Socio-Demographic Characteristics
1500 Work History and Benefits
2000 Health State Descriptions and Vignettes
2500 Anthropometrics, Performance Tests and Biomarkers
3000 Risk Factors and Preventive Health Behaviours
4000 Chronic Conditions and Health Services Coverage
5000 Health Care Utilization
6000 Social Cohesion
7000 Subjective Well-Being and Quality of Life (WHOQoL-8 and Day Reconstruction Method)
8000 Impact of Caregiving
9000 Interviewer Assessment