NZ Health Survey results provide valuable insights into health of New Zealanders
Ministry of Health media release: 19th November 2024
The Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora has published results from the 2023/24 New Zealand Health Survey today.
‘The annual New Zealand Health Survey results provide valuable information about the health and wellbeing of adults and children in New Zealand,’ says Dr Harriette Carr, Deputy Director Public Health at the Ministry of Health.
The survey captures information about a range of health topics, such as alcohol use, vaping and smoking, mental health, eating habits, and access to health services.
‘The survey is an essential tool for the Ministry and wider health sector to identify key issues and monitor trends. The information collected supports the development of health services, policies and strategies,’ says Dr Carr.
‘The data shows that most New Zealanders continue to be in good health, and good progress is being made in areas such as reducing young people’s rates of hazardous drinking.
‘We know there are areas where more work is needed and there is work underway to address this. The Government Policy Statement on Health outlines the Government’s vision for the health system: to increase life expectancy with quality of life, and a health system that provides all New Zealanders with timely access to quality health care.’
The key findings show:
- Most New Zealanders are in good health, with 85.4% of adults reporting their health was good, very good or excellent.
- Rates of smoking remain low and data over the past few years shows a declining trend. About 6.9% of adults were daily smokers in 2023/24, which is a similar rate to the previous year (6.8%) but a decrease from 12.9% five years ago.
- Rates of vaping continue to increase. 11.1% of adults were daily vapers in 2023/24, up from 9.7% the previous year.
- Young people aged 18–24 have significantly lower rates of hazardous drinking than they did five years ago (from 35.8% to 22.6%). The rate of hazardous drinking for all adults has also decreased in the past five years from 20.4% to 16.6%, but an estimated 720,000 adults still drink in a way that is potentially harmful.
- Young adults and disabled adults are most likely to experience psychological distress and these same groups commonly reported unmet need for mental health care support.
- About three out of four adults (76.6%) reported their oral health to be good, very good, or excellent.
- Visits to the GP have decreased and visits to the emergency department have increased over the past five years. One in four adults (25.7%) and one in five children (18.5%) reported that ‘time taken to get an appointment was too long’ as a barrier to visiting the GP.
- Fewer than half of adults (46.6%) meet physical activity guidelines which recommend doing at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity in the past week, spread out over the week.
- One in four children (27.0%) lived in households where food ran out often or sometimes in the 12 months prior to the 2023/24 survey.
Find out more about the latest NZ Health Survey data.