The Seventh Conference on Health Survey Research Methods, to be held in the fall of 1999, will focus on: (a) the major survey activities ongoing both within and outside the federal statistical system; (b) the potential impact of ongoing, relevant, methodological research on health surveys; and (c) how survey methods affect the usefulness of survey data in addressing the information and policy needs of those charged with planning, delivering, and improving health assessments, services, and research to the nation. The proposed conference will bring together four key stakeholder groups--people from various disciplines who are at the forefront of survey methods research, those responsible for the major health surveys, those who use survey data to develop health policy, and those in the government who make these policies-to review and critique the current state of survey methods in this area and develop concrete recommendations for how these might be enhanced, improved and better focused. The long-range objectives of this conference, as of its predecessors, is to improve the quality of health survey data and enhance their value.
