The daily health diary has been used as a research instrument to collect information on health, illness, and associated behaviors. There is conflict in the literature, however, on whether the diary is useful in studying gerontological health. The purpose of this study is to examine whether two different formats, the interview and the diary, are similar or different in eliciting health data from older people. Interviews were conducted with 728 randomly selected adults ranging in age from 45 to 94; a random subsample of 83 was selected subsequently to keep a diary. The study focused exclusively on chronic health problems. The results suggest that the reporting format and age may influence what is reported about chronic health problems.
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