Country of birth and country of residence influences on self-reported health: a British analysis using individual-level data

Mitchell (2005: 308) asks “whether we can compare self-reported measures of illness between countries and cultures”. Perhaps there is something about being English, Scottish or Welsh that influences the way in which people answer a question about their health. Alternatively, there may be something about being born in or living in England, Scotland or Wales which affects the population’s health. Here we explore the influences of country of birth and country of residence on the self-reporting of health in Britain. We investigate, for example, the health of the population in Wales by comparing those born in Wales with those born elsewhere. Similarly, we consider whether those who are Welsh born report their health differently when they are resident in another country. Mitchell (2005: 308) also asks how the self-reporting of illness can be tracked “over time when cultures, expectations, and awareness of health are all in a state of flux”, so our analyses are based on Census data for both 1991 and 2001.