Self-rated health
How people rate their own health can be used to predict their future healthcare needs and likelihood of dying prematurely.[1]
The ACT General Health Survey provides local health data
The ACT General Health Survey provides ACT-specific health and wellbeing data which is not always available in national surveys.
Each year, respondents to the ACT General Health Survey rate their own health on a 5-point scale from excellent to poor. The survey is designed to be representative of the ACT population.[2]
Nationally, self-rated health is collected through the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.
The relative size of the ACT population compared to other states and territories means we are not always well represented in national surveys due to the small number of respondents.[2]
The ACT General Health Survey also allows us to focus more on issues of most importance to the ACT. This has included changes in scope over time such as the inclusion of broader factors that influence health and wellbeing beyond chronic disease in 2019.[2]
A limitation of the survey is the reliance on self-reporting. When self-reporting their health status and related behaviours such as smoking or physical activity, people tend to over- or under-estimate values.[3]
Most adult Canberrans rate their health highly
More than 8 in 10 Canberrans who completed the ACT General Health Survey in 2021 rated their health as excellent, very good or good.[4]
52.8% of adults aged over 18 rated their health as excellent or very good and 29.5% rated their health as good. [4] 17.6% of people rated their health as fair or poor.[4]
Males (56.1%) were more likely to rate their health as excellent or very good than females (49.9%) (Figure 10) but this difference was not statistically significant.[4]
Young adults (aged 18 to 24 years) rated their health higher than older adults, with 59.3% rating their health as excellent or very good compared to 41.5% of adults aged over 65 (Figure 11).[4]
Figure 10. Self-rated health for adults aged 18 years and over by sex, ACT, 2021
Source: ACT Government, ACT General Health Survey, ACT Government website, 2021.
Figure 11. Self-rated health by age groups, ACT, 2021
Source: ACT Government (2021) ACT General Health Survey, ACT Government website.
Children have higher self-rated health than adults
More than 9 in 10 Canberran children aged 5 to 17 included in the 2021 General Health Survey had their health rated as health as excellent, very good or good in 2021.[5]
77.2% of children aged 5 to 17 had their health rated as excellent or very good. This included 81.4% of boys and 74.5% of girls (Figure 12).
An additional 12.7% of boys and 19% of girls had their health rated as good. The remaining 6% of boys and 6.5% of girls had their health rated as fair or poor.[5]
Parents and carers answer self-rated health questions for children aged 5-15 years, while those aged 16 years and over answer themselves.
Figure 12. Self-rated health for children aged 17 and under by sex, ACT, 2021
Source: ACT Government (2021) ACT General Health Survey, ACT Government website.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the ACT
More than 7 in 10 Indigenous peoples aged 15 and over in the ACT rated their health as excellent, very good or good in the 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health survey.[6]
In 2018-19, 40.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples rated their health as excellent or very good and 32.7% rated their health as good (Figure 12). More than 1 in 4 (26.9%) rated their health as fair or poor.[6]
The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who rate their health as excellent or very good in the ACT is below the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander average of 44.5%.[6] It is also the third lowest in Australia after South Australia and Tasmania.
Figure 13. Self-rated health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons by state/territory, 2018-19
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, ABS website, 2019, accessed 24 February 2023.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-rated health is declining
The self-rated health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT who participated in national surveys declined between 2004–05 and 2018–19.[7]
In 2004–05, 83.0% of Indigenous people rated their health as excellent, very good or good compared to 73.1% in 2018–19.[7]
The greater burden of disease experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to non-Indigenous Australians may explain lower self-rated health, however it does not explain why self-rated health has declined over time.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation of physical and mental health.[8] It is a holistic view of health that recognises the importance of connection to country, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and community for wellbeing.[9]
The self is seen as inseparable from, and is embedded within, family and communities.[8] However, this view of health is complex and is not the same for all cultural groups and individuals.[8]
Social and emotional wellbeing can be negatively impacted by a broad range of factors including discrimination, trauma and poverty. [10]
A decline in self-rated health in the ACT must be considered in this context and likely has complex intersecting causes.
References
[3] Gorber S and Tremblay M, ‘Self-Report and Direct Measures of Health: Bias and Implications’, In: Shephard, R. and Tudor-Locke, C. (eds) The Objective Monitoring of Physical Activity: Contributions of Accelerometry to Epidemiology, Exercise Science and Rehabilitation. Springer Series on Epidemiology and Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29577-0_14
