New Zealanders rate themselves as healthy
3 December 2003 Media Statement
New Zealanders rate themselves as healthy
Health Minister Annette King says provisional results from the 2002-03 New Zealand Health Survey show nine out of 10 New Zealand adults rate their health as good, very good or excellent.
She released a snapshot of the survey’s findings today, and said it highlighted a number of positive aspects about the health of adult New Zealanders.
“That 90 percent of adults consider themselves healthy is certainly an encouraging statistic. It is also great news that half of all adults do 30 minutes or more of physical activity at least five days a week.”
The
2002-03 New Zealand Health Survey is the third in a series
of nationwide health surveys carried out by the Ministry of
Health. The survey involved
more than 12,500 New Zealand
adults and collected information on diseases and risks to
health, as well as information on the use of health
services.
Ms King says she is also encouraged that two thirds of adults eat the recommended three or more servings of vegetables each day and that half eat the recommended two or more servings of fruit. “The physical activity and nutrition results are important when you consider some of the risk factors highlighted by the survey. The fact that more than half of adults are overweight or obese is something we all need to focus on.”
The snapshot also showed obvious areas for improvement, she said. “One in five are obese and a similar proportion smoke. Almost one in six have potentially hazardous drinking habits, while one in seven used marijuana in the last year.
“The survey will help us measure progress towards our goals of better health, reduced inequalities, and fair access for everyone to health services.”
The snapshot report of the survey is available on www.moh.govt.nz/phi
Questions and Answers
Has there been a New Zealand Health Survey
before?
The 2002-03 New Zealand Health Survey is the
third nationwide health survey of New Zealand adults aged 15
years and over. Previous surveys were conducted in 1992-93
and 1996-97.
When was this survey conducted?
The
survey was conducted between August 2002 and September 2003
by National Research Bureau Ltd (NRB).
What are the new
features of this survey?
New features of this survey,
compared with previous health surveys, include:
-
Information on a wider range of diseases and risks to
health, as well as more detail about these conditions (eg,
age at diagnosis and treatments)
- Information on a wider
range of health services, including the number of visits,
satisfaction levels and whether services met peoples’
needs
- Measurement of body weight and height to
calculate a body mass index, which allows us to determine
the prevalence of overweight and obesity
- More
information on how healthy adults see themselves as
being
How many people were surveyed?
More than 12,500
adults aged 15 years and over responded to the survey. More
people participated in this survey than in previous ones.
This provisional report includes information from
approximately 12,000 people, of which 3990 were Maori, 790
were Pacific people and 940 were Asian. The results are
provisional as a small number of interviews are still being
processed.
Did most people who were approached agree to
take part?
The New Zealand Health Survey 2002-03 was well
received with 74 percent of people approached completing a
questionnaire.
How much did it cost to complete the
survey?
$3.2 million, which was funded by the
Ministry.
Who will use the survey results?
This survey
is part of the New Zealand Health Monitor, which is a
programme of surveys used by the Ministry to monitor the
health of New Zealanders. The survey findings will provide a
valuable resource for developing, implementing and
monitoring the New Zealand Health Strategy and the New
Zealand Disability Strategy. As well as being a valuable
resource for the Ministry, it is hoped that the survey
findings will be of use to the wider health sector.
Why
has the Ministry released a snapshot of the survey
results?
The Ministry wanted to release some provisional
results from the survey as soon as possible after the final
data was collected. Releasing provisional results allows
information to be disseminated to the health sector more
quickly. The results are provisional as a small number of
interviews are still being processed. The snapshot presents
key results in plain language and is intended to be
accessible to a wide audience, including interested members
of the public.
When will further results from the survey
be released?
A more extensive report will be released by
mid-2004. That report will include descriptive results for
all questions by gender and ethnicity. Key questions will
also be analysed by age group and deprivation. Following the
descriptive report, a further series of reports will look at
comparisons with previous surveys as well as examining
inter-relationships such as between chronic diseases and
risk factors for these diseases. Future analysis will also
look at how the survey results relate to District Health
Boards (DHBs). However, since analyses for DHBs will
require more sophisticated statistical techniques, the
results of these analyses will not be provided until after
mid-2004.
ENDS