SHARE-Belgium: Study Overview
SHARE is a cross-national panel study of people aged 50 and older and their partners, living in private households in all 26 continental countries of the European Union, Switzerland, and Israel. Its main goal is to provide a multidisciplinary data resource on the influence of health and socioeconomic factors on aging at the individual and societal levels. The survey elicits information about demographics, health, cognition, health care use and costs, employment status, income and assets, housing, and expectations.
The SHARE core interview was carried out every two years (besides 2008) through face-to-face interviews, using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) since 2004.
In addition to the core interview, SHARE also collects a number of other types of data.
| End of Life Interview | Conducted starting at Wave 2 with someone knowledgeable about deceased respondents. |
|---|---|
| Life History Interview | Conducted once for all respondents at Wave 3 or 7. |
| Self-Completion Survey | Provided to all respondents at Waves 1-2 and 4-7. |
| Health Assessment | Conducted at each Wave for all respondents. |
| Blood-Based Biomarkers | Capillary blood was collected at Wave 6 among all respondents via dried blood spots. |
The SHARE-Belgium Wave 1 sample included 6,002 selected households. Since then, the SHARE-Belgium sample has been refreshed at Waves 2, 4, 5, and 6. When the Wave 2 refreshment sample was drawn, individuals were selected from pre-chosen regions using a stratified, multistage sampling. When the Wave 4 refreshment sample was drawn, French or Dutch-speaking individuals were selected from pre-chosen regions using a stratified, multistage sampling. When the Wave 5 and 6 refreshment samples were drawn, individuals were selected from a population register using a stratified, multistage sampling.
