Factors Affecting the Validity of Self-Reported Data on Health Services from the Community Health Survey in Korea

PURPOSE As a follow-up for the validity study of Community Health Surveys (CHSs), the purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting the accuracy of CHSs by investigating subjects' characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used data from 11,217 participants (aged 19 years or older) who had participated in the CHS, conducted by a local government in 2008 and analyzed the variables affecting the sensitivity and specificity of hospitalization and outpatient visit. RESULTS Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, factors related with the sensitivity of hospitalization and outpatient visit questions were gender, age, marital status, chronic diseases, medical checkup, the subjective health status and necessary medical services. Factors related with the specificity were gender, marital status, educational background, chronic diseases, medical checkup, alcohol consumption, necessary medical services and sadness. CONCLUSION This study revealed the subject-related factors associated with the validity of the CHS. Efforts to improve the sensitivity and the specificity from self-report questionnaires should consider how the characteristics of subjects may affect their responses.