Report on the 4th ISSP User Conference – Health and Health Care

Abstract

The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) is the largest regularly conducted international comparative sociological research program that uses a standardized survey measurement instrument, focusing each year on a specific topic of interest. The ISSP organized the fourth event in its series of user conferences on 24 November 2025, focusing on the “Health and Health Care” module, which has been fielded two times before, in 2011 and 2021. The Health and Health Care module covers a wide range of health-related attitudes and behaviors. The survey examines health-related beliefs and how respondents evaluate the healthcare system’s performance, including their perceptions of inequalities in it. Furthermore, it measures how satisfied the population is with the system’s performance and the extent to which people trust the healthcare system and medical professionals. Attitudes towards the role of government in relation to health care are also an important topic in the survey. As attitudes can be influenced by respondents’ own experiences, the questionnaire includes basic questions on health (e.g., chronic illnesses, unhappiness), health behaviors (e.g., frequency of smoking and physical activity), and healthcare utilization (health insurance, visits to doctors, hospital treatments, experience of unmet healthcare needs). The 2021 Health Care module was particularly important and timely in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, the questionnaire also included specific questions related to trust in vaccination, the impact of the pandemic, and its management.