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Current report - Victorian population health survey 2006
Page content: Summary | Contents | Download
document | Regional fact sheets
Summary
Background
The Victorian Population Health Survey is an important component of the population
health surveillance capacity of the Department of Human Services. The annual survey
series is an ongoing source of high quality information on the health of Victorians.
Information in the report is presented on health and lifestyle, including physical activity,
smoking, alcohol consumption, intake of fruit and vegetables, selected health screening,
adult obesity, asthma and diabetes prevalence, psychological distress and social
networks.
Purpose
The aim of this report is to provide high quality, timely indicators of population health
that are intended to have direct application to evidence-based policy development and
strategic planning across the department and the wider community. The Victorian
Population Health Survey is based on a core set of question modules that are critical to
informing decisions about public health priorities. It fills a significant void in the
accessible data that are required to ensure public health programs are relevant and
responsive to current and emerging health issues.
Methods
Computer-assisted telephone interviewing was undertaken between August and
December 2006. A representative statewide sample of adults aged 18 years or over
was randomly selected from households in each of the eight departmental health
regions. Approximately 7500 interviews were completed during the fieldwork period.
The department determined the content of the survey after reviewing the determinants
of chronic disease states that are most likely to have an impact on Victorians.
Refer to Appendix A for a more detailed description of methods.
Key results
This report on the 2006 survey presents information that is compared to selected data items since inception of the survey in 2001. Future survey reports will continue to present time
series information, along with changes over time in the health of Victorians and the
determinants of that health, such as obesity patterns among adult Victorians. In the
section on health and lifestyle, the report contains information on the prevalence of
major risk-taking behaviours across the Victorian population—for example, the
prevalence of smoking, nutrition, alcohol consumption and levels of physical activity.
Data on self-reported height and weight are now collected as core items. These data will
be vital for targeting public health interventions and evaluating outcomes.
Questions on asthma and diabetes provide indicators for the selected national health
priority areas, which are the subject of public health programs in Victoria and
nationwide. These data complement the department’s Victorian Burden of Disease
Study and Victorian Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Study, and they describe
aspects of clinical management and prevention that are amenable to public health
interventions. A particular interest is the information in the report of the extent and diversity of social networks in the Victorian population.
Contents
Foreword
- Summary
- Health and lifestyle
- Self-reported health and selected health conditions
- Obesity among adults
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Psychological distress
- Social support, community participation and attitudes
Download document
 Victorian population health
survey 2006: Selected findings (2,004kb, pdf)
 Previous years' reports
Regional fact sheets
Previous fact sheets
The fact sheets present the major findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2006. Information is presented on health status, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, health checks, eye protection and alcohol consumption.
Regional Cardiovascular Disease Fact Sheets
The fact sheets were produced by the Heart Foundation with the assistance of the Department of Human Services. All data in the fact sheets were provided by the Department of Human Services.
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