ESRA 2023 sessions by theme

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Session Details

All scientific disciplines have an interest in improving both measurement instruments and measurement strategies. This is especially pertinent to empirical social science health research. It may be possible to extend measurement beyond the perception of individuals to a broader basis of content.
Results of quantitative empirical health research shape the everyday life of actors in the health care system. Quantitative empirical measures support indices of, for example, health, health care systems, and socioeconomic status. Knowledge of the background of measurements, assessment of measurement quality, and content validity should be critically examined as well as response behavior in terms of social desirability. Changes in response behavior are also evident with different survey modes. Which means that respondent behavior could make a decisive difference in results.
Health is neither a purely objective nor a strictly subjective concept. But in social science surveys, subjective information about health is usually the central element of health measurements. What thresholds, if any, must be exceeded for individuals to respond to stimuli? Once stimuli have been perceived, they are evaluated by the observer (also unconsciously) and classified into contexts as well as learned structures. These processes are shaped by the functioning of the human organs and, above all, by previous individual experiences.
Measurements are often made at the objective level, as in the case of socioeconomic status, which is determined from objective indicators (education, occupation, income). In addition, subjective social status (SSS) has increasingly been measured in recent years. The subjective level is present in pretty much all areas of health research.
This session deals with improvements of objective and subjective health measurements that will enhance and simplify the field in the future.