Consenting to health record linkage: evidence from the British Household Panel Study

Abstract

The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is the first study of its kind to have asked for permission to link to a range of administrative health records. Multivariate analysis is applied to investigate whether there is consent bias. We find that consent on the BHPS is not biased with respect to socio-economic characteristics or health; recent users of GP services are underrepresented among consenters. Whilst consent rates are lower than on previous surveys with a more medical focus, the problem of bias is less of an issue.