Annual Update of Key Results 2022/23: New Zealand Health Survey

December 14, 2023

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

The Annual Data Explorer presents results from the 2022/23 New Zealand Health Survey, with comparisons to earlier surveys where possible. Results are available by gender, age group, ethnic group, neighbourhood deprivation and disability status.

Published data can be downloaded from the Annual Data Explorer as a.csv file.

Data for the 2022/23 New Zealand Health Survey were collected between July 2022 and July 2023, with a sample size of 6,799 adults and 2,029 children. Details about the survey methodology are outlined in the latest Methodology Report and survey content in the Content Guide.

Note that corrections have been made to the 2021/22 New Zealand Health Survey data. Further information is available in Corrections made to 2021/22 New Zealand Health Survey data.

If you have any queries please email [email protected].

Overview of key findings

Selected findings from the 2022/23 New Zealand Health Survey are summarised below. See the Annual Data Explorer for results for all 180+ indicators.

Some key results about barriers to visiting a GP have also been presented in the Barriers to visiting a GP for NZ adults 2022/23 poster (PDF, 98 KB).

Please note the following before reading the results:

In the New Zealand Health Survey, adults are people aged 15 years old and over.
Children in the total population are aged 0–14 years unless otherwise stated and disabled children are aged 5-14 years.
The parents or caregivers of children answered the survey questions on behalf of their child.

Self-rated health

Most New Zealanders are in good health

In 2022/23, 86.2% of adults reported they were in ‘good health’, which is defined as good, very good or excellent health. This level of good health is similar to levels reported over the previous 5 years.
Disabled adults were less likely to report being in good health (57.4%) than non-disabled adults (89.1%).
95.7% of children were in good health. Although this was slightly lower than in the previous year (97.8%), high levels of reported good health among children have been stable over the last decade.
The percentage of disabled children[1] in ‘good health’ (86.2%) was lower than for non-disabled children (97.9%).
83.7% of adults reported high or very high family wellbeing in 2022/23.
Most adults reported a high or very high level of life satisfaction (84.9%).
Disabled adults were less likely to report high levels of life satisfaction (63.5%) than non-disabled adults (87.0%).

[1] Children aged 5–14 years are considered disabled if they have serious difficulty with at least one of the following: seeing (even with glasses), hearing (even with hearing aids), walking, self-care, communicating, learning, remembering, concentrating, accepting change, controlling their own behaviour, making friends, anxiety, or depression.

Smoking rates

Smoking rates continue to decline

6.8% of adults were daily smokers in 2022/23, down from 8.6% the previous year and 16.4% in 2011/12.
There has been a decline in daily smoking for all ethnic groups between 2011/12 and 2022/23, as follows: Māori, 37.7% to 17.1%; Pacific peoples, 22.6% to 6.4%; European/Other, 14.7% to 6.1%; and Asian, 7.9% to 3.3%.
There was a drop in daily smoking for Pacific peoples from 18.1% in 2021/22 to 6.4% (with a 95% confidence interval of 4.1–9.3%) in 2022/23. However, further data is needed to confirm the size of this most recent drop, because it’s bigger than the gradual decreasing trend seen over previous years.
Daily smoking was more common in adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods[2] (10.7%) than adults in the least deprived neighbourhoods (3.1%).
16.2% of smokers quit smoking in the 12 months prior to completing the 2022/23 survey. This is similar to the previous two years.

[2] Neighbourhood deprivation refers to the New Zealand Index of Deprivation 2018 (NZDep2018), which measures the level of socioeconomic deprivation for each neighbourhood (Statistical Area 1) according to a combination of the following 2018 Census variables: household income, benefit receipt, household crowding, home ownership, employment status, qualifications, single parent families, living in home with dampness/mould and access to the internet.

Daily vaping

Nearly one in ten adults vape daily

The rate of daily vaping increased over the past five years from 2.6% in 2017/18 to 9.7% in 2022/23.
Daily vaping was highest among those aged 18–24 years (25.2%) and among Māori (23.5%) and Pacific adults (18.7%).
As was the case for daily smoking, daily vaping was more common in adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (15.8%) than adults in the least deprived neighbourhoods (4.4%).

Hazardous drinking

Hazardous drinking has decreased

The rate of hazardous drinking[3] in adults decreased from 18.7% in 2021/22 to 16.0% in 2022/23, after being relatively stable from 2016/17 (when the current time series began).
A decrease in hazardous drinking occurred from 2021/22 to 2022/23 among Māori (33.4% to 25.1%) and European/Other (20.0% to 16.9%). Rates of hazardous drinking in Pacific (21.5%) and Asian people (4.9%) remained stable.

[3] Hazardous drinkers are those who obtain an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or more, representing an established pattern of drinking that carries a high risk of future damage to physical or mental health.

Psychological distress

One in five young people experienced high levels of psychological distress

Most adults experienced no/low (69.0%) or moderate (19.1%) levels of psychological distress[4] in the four weeks prior to the 2022/23 survey. However, one in eight adults (11.9%) reported experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress, with the rate being higher in women (13.2%) than men (10.2%).
Psychological distress was highest in young people aged 15–24 years, with one in five (21.2%) experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress.
High or very high levels of psychological distress were more common in disabled adults than in non-disabled adults (35.9% and 9.5%, respectively).

[4] Psychological distress was measured by the 10-item questionnaire Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). It refers to a person’s experience of symptoms such as nervousness, restlessness, fatigue, or depression in the past four weeks. The K10 is a screening tool, rather than a diagnostic tool, so it’s not recommended to use it to measure the prevalence of mental health conditions in the population.

Emotional symptoms and/or behavioural problems

One in ten children likely to have emotional symptoms and/or behavioural problems

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)[5] examines emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviour in children aged 2–14 years.
In 2022/23, one in ten (9.6%) children were likely to have emotional symptoms and/or behavioural problems, meaning that they have a risk of experiencing substantial difficulties in these 4 aspects of development: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity and peer problems.
More girls (15.6%) than boys (11.1%) were likely to have emotional symptoms.
More boys than girls were likely to have hyperactivity (12.7% versus 6.7%) and peer problems (17.3% versus 12.3%).

[5] The SDQ is a screening tool, rather than a diagnostic tool.

Unmet need for professional mental health support

Increase in unmet need for professional mental health support

7.8% of adults reported an unmet need for professional help for their emotions, stress, mental health or substance use in 2022/23, compared to 4.9% in 2016/17.
Young adults reported the highest rates of unmet need for this professional help (15.5% for 15–24 years and 11.5% for 25–34 years).
Between 2016/17 and 2022/23, there was an increase in the percentage of adults who consulted a nurse or GP (10.8% to 12.9%) or a psychologist, counsellor, or psychotherapist (4.9% to 6.6%) about their mental health in the 12 months prior to completing the survey.
6.6% of children had an unmet need for professional help for their emotions, behaviour, stress, mental health or substance use in the year before being surveyed, compared to 4.8% in 2016/17 and 7.0% in 2021/22.
Disabled adults (19.5%) and children (31.0%) had a higher unmet need for professional help than non-disabled adults (6.7%) and children (2.9%) respectively.

Parenting

Most children have parents who cope well with parenting

80.0% of children had a parent/caregiver who coped well or very well with demands of raising children.
92.1% of children had a parent/caregiver who reported having someone they can turn to for day-to-day emotional support with raising children.

Household food insecurity

More than one in three Māori and Pacific children live in households where food runs out

One in five children (21.3%) lived in households where food ran out often or sometimes in the 12 months prior to the 2022/23 survey. This is an increase from the previous two years (14.4% in 2021/22 and 14.9% in 2020/21), but similar to other years since 2011/12.
More than one in three Māori (35.1%) and Pacific (39.6%) children were living in households where food ran out often or sometimes in the year prior to the 2022/23 survey, compared to nearly one in six European/Other (18.0%) and one in eight Asian (12.3%) children.
In 2022/23, 20.3% of children lived in households where, in the past year, they often or sometimes ate less because of lack of money. This is an increase from the previous two years, but similar to other years since 2011/12.
Rates of each of these two food insecurity indicators[6] were higher in households where children were Māori, Pacific, disabled, or living in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

[6] The two household food insecurity indicators include questions about whether in the last 12 months the household sometimes or often, ran out of food, and ate less because of lack of money.

Nutrition

One in nine adults ate the daily recommended amount of vegetables

In 2022/23, nearly half of adults (44.9%) usually ate the recommended amount of fruit (2+ servings per day).
One in nine adults (11.0%) ate the recommended amount of vegetables (5 to 6 serves, depending on age and gender).
Among children aged 2–14 years, 70.9% ate the recommended amount of fruit (1 to 2 servings, depending on age).
Only 5.4% of children aged 2–14 years ate the recommended amount of vegetables (2.5 to 5.5 servings).
Over half of children aged four months to less than five years at the time of the survey (58.1%) were exclusively breastfed until four months old. This is an increase from 52.2% in the previous year and the highest rate reported in the last ten years.
Most children aged 2–14 years (79.9%) ate breakfast every day in 2022/23.

Physical activity

Fewer than half of adults meet physical activity guidelines

In 2022/23, 46.5% of adults met physical activity guidelines (did at least 2.5 hours of activity in the past week, spread out over the week). This is a decline from 51.3% in 2021/22.
A higher percentage of men (49.6%) than women (43.7%) met physical activity guidelines in 2022/23.
One in 7 adults (14.0%) did little or no physical activity in 2022/23.
Among children aged 5–14 years, 39.1% used active transport (for example, walking and cycling) to get to and from school in 2022/23.

Obesity

About one in three adults in New Zealand are classified as obese

One in three adults (about 1.4 million adults or 32.6%) were classified as obese, which is similar to five years ago (32.5%).
About 110,000 children aged 2–14 years (13.5%) were classified as obese in 2022/23, which is slightly higher than five years ago (11.6%). However, more data is needed to confirm obesity trends in children due to smaller sample sizes over the last few years and variable trends across population subgroups.
Among children, Māori (21.7%), Pacific (27.8%) and children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (26.4%) were most likely to be classified as obese.
Disabled adults (44.2%) and children (23.7%) were more likely to be classified as obese than non-disabled adults (31.6%) and children (13.2%).
32.3% of adults and 61.2% of children were of a healthy weight in 2022/23, which is similar to previous years.

Sleep duration

More than one in five children get less sleep than recommended

More than two out of three adults (67.9%) met the sleep duration guidelines, while 26.8% usually slept less than recommended, and 5.3% usually slept more than recommended.
Among adults, Māori (60.6%), Pacific (62.5%), and people who live in the most deprived neighbourhoods (62.9%) were least likely to meet the sleep duration guidelines.
Among children, 71.3% met sleep duration guidelines, while 23.3% usually slept less than recommended, and 5.6% usually slept more than recommended.
Disabled children (62.2%) and adults (49.6%) were less likely to meet the sleep duration guidelines than non-disabled children (75.2%) and adults (69.7%) respectively.

Oral health

About two-thirds of people brush their teeth as recommended

About three out of four adults (77.5%) reported their oral health to be good, very good, or excellent.
Most parents and caregivers (92.1%) reported their children’s oral health to be good, very good, or excellent.
65.9% of children aged 1–14 years and 68.2% adults brush their teeth with standard fluoride toothpaste at least twice each day.
For both adults and children, toothbrushing twice daily decreased as neighbourhood deprivation increased. Nearly 60% of adults and children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods brushed twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste, compared to nearly 80% of adults and children living in the least deprived neighbourhoods.
Nearly half of adults (44.0%) experienced unmet need for dental care due to cost in the past 12 months. This is higher than in 2021/22, but similar to years prior to this.
Unmet need for dental care was highest among those aged 25–34 years (56.3%) and 35–44 years (54.1%) and lowest in older age groups.

Barriers to visiting a GP

‘Time taken to get an appointment was too long’ was the most commonly reported barrier to visiting a GP

One in five adults (21.2%) and one in seven children (14.8%) experienced ‘time taken to get an appointment was too long’ as a barrier to visiting the GP in the 12 months prior to the 2022/23 survey. This increased from the previous year (11.6% for adults and 8.0% for children).
One in eight adults (12.9%) reported not visiting a GP due to cost in the 12 months prior to the 2022/23 survey. This is higher than the previous two years, but less than other years since 2011/12.
Women (15.1%) were more likely than men (10.5%) to report cost as a barrier to visiting the GP.
Among disabled adults, one in four (24.3%) reported time taken to get an appointment as a barrier to visiting the GP, one in five (21.4%) reported cost as a barrier to visiting the GP and one in twelve (8.3%) reported cost as a barrier to filling a prescription.
Disabled children were more likely to experience time taken to get an appointment as a barrier to seeing the GP (20.9%) than non-disabled children (13.5%).

Visits to GP and emergency department

Visits to the GP decreased and visits to the emergency department increased

For both adults and children, visits to the GP have decreased over the last five years. 73.2% of adults visited a GP in the past 12 months, down from 78.0% in 2017/18. For children, 64.4% visited the GP, down from 73.3% in 2017/18.
18.0% of children visited the emergency department in 2022/23, up from 14.4% in 2017/18. Visits in 2022/23 were highest among children aged 0–4 years (28.7%).

MIL OSI