CEP-004: Hearing and vision harmonization
HUI hearing/vision items and Washington Group measures
Overview
This CEP documents the harmonization of hearing and vision variables from the CCHS Health Utility Index (HUI) module and Washington Group Disability Measures (WDM).
Status: L2 complete (semantic mapping defined)
PR: #160
Variables in scope
HUI hearing items (Master only)
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| HUI06 | Group conversation without hearing aid |
| HUI07 | Group conversation with hearing aid |
| HUI07A | Able to hear at all |
| HUI08 | Quiet room without hearing aid |
| HUI09 | Quiet room with hearing aid |
HUI vision items (Master only)
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| HUI01 | Read newsprint without aid |
| HUI02 | Read newsprint with aid |
| HUI03 | Able to see at all |
| HUI04 | Recognize friend without aid |
| HUI05 | Recognize friend with aid |
HUI derived (PUMF and Master)
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| HUIGHER | Hearing problems (grouped) |
| HUIGVIS | Vision trouble (grouped) |
| HUIDHER | Hearing problems (derived) |
| HUIDVIS | Vision trouble (derived) |
Washington Group (2017-2018)
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| WDM_005 | Difficulty seeing |
| WDM_010 | Difficulty hearing |
Critical findings
2003 Ontario exclusion
The 2003 PUMF HUI grouped variables (HUICGHER, HUICGVIS) contain NO Ontario data.
This is a data collection artifact, not a worksheet error. Available provinces in 2003 PUMF:
- Atlantic provinces
- Quebec
Impact: For Ontario dementia research, the 2003 cycle cannot be used for PUMF-based hearing/vision analysis.
Scale change in 2017-2018
The 2017-2018 cycle uses Washington Group measures instead of HUI:
- HUI scale: 6-point (1-6)
- WDM scale: 4-point (1-4)
A 4-category harmonized scale is recommended for cross-era comparison. See L2: Semantic mapping for the crosswalk.
PR #160 review findings
During formal review of PR #160, several worksheet errors were identified and corrected:
- Database name typos (
cchs_2009_2010_m→cchs2009_2010_m) - HUI06 source variable typo (
HUAC_06→HUIC_06) - HUI09 wrong default source variable (
[HUI_08]→[HUI_09]) - HUI07A missing 2005 and 2007-2008 cycles
- HUI09 missing 2011-2012 cycle
See PR #160 notes for complete details.
Workflow progress
| Stage | Status | Output |
|---|---|---|
| L0: Documentation | ✅ Complete | L0 assessment |
| L1: Concordance | ✅ Complete | L1 concordance |
| L2: Semantic mapping | ✅ Complete | L2 mapping |
| L3: Worksheets | ⏳ Pending | — |
| L4: DV specification | ⏳ Pending | — |
| L5: Testing | ⏳ Pending | — |
| L6: Integration | 🔄 In progress | Integration test, Availability matrix |
Next steps
- Create L3 worksheet drafts with recoding rules
- Run integration test QMDs against PUMF data
- DDI verification before final merge