• to understand the translation of observed health status to self-reported health status and if this translation differs by socio-economic groups; and 
• to determine how self-reported health status information can estimate the value of health. 

  The results are important for research purposes and directly contribute in assessing the burden of non-fatal health outcomes particularly for the elderly within the Global Burden of Disease 2000, which are to be disseminated widely by the World Health Organization. These results improve the comparability and interpretation of self-reported health status measures across and within populations. 

The analysis: 

• Examines how individuals translate observed performance in a domain of health into self-reported capacity in that domain. Nationally-representative sample survey data from the United States, Indonesia, and Canada are being used, with regional and smaller cross-national sample surveys from some or all of the United States, China, Italy, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Thailand. 
• Examines how medical diagnosis for particular conditions translates into self-reported health in associated domains. Nationally-representative sample survey data linked to medical records from the United States and Denmark have been identified. 
• Examines how self-reported general health relates to valuation of health. Nationally-representative survey data from Denmark that includes both self-reported general health status and valuation of health are being used. 
• Examines how individuals weigh self-reported performance in different domains of health into self-reported general health. Nationally-representative data from the United States, Canada, Denmark and Japan are being employed, along with regional and smaller cross-national sample surveys from countries selected from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.