Key messages
- The Victorian Population Health Survey (VPHS) provides an annual assessment of the health and wellbeing of adults in Victoria and the determinants of that health and wellbeing, including the social determinants of health.
- For the first time, the 2017 VPHS included additional question modules on the following topics: family violence; gender identity and sexual orientation; the cultural determinants of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Victorians; and palliative care and plans for health in the future.
- The new topics were the subject of separate inaugural reports.
- For the first time, the routine data that is collected every year is presented as a dashboard rather than a report.
The Victorian Population Health Survey has been conducted each year since 2001 and is based on a random sample of adults aged 18 years and over.
The Survey is administered using computer-assisted telephone interviews. In 2017, the sample was expanded to approximately 34,000 respondents to allow for the reporting of analysed data at the local government area level.
The findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2017 are presented as dashboards for each of the 79 councils in Victoria, their corresponding Health Area and Division, as well as for the state of Victoria.
Indicators
The indicators presented as dashboards are:
- Smoking prevalence
- Fruit and vegetable consumption
- Intake of sugar sweetened beverages
- Consumption of take-away or snack food
- Obesity
- Physical activity
- Alcohol consumption
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Life satisfaction
- Self-reported health status
- Health checks
- Bowel and breast cancer screening
- Selected chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes
- Dental health
Report: The health and wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer population in Victoria - Findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2017
Victoria is leading the nation in the collection of health measures on the physical, mental and social health of the LGBTIQ+ population. The findings from this survey have, for the first time in Victoria, enabled us to measure and report on the health status of LGBTIQ+ Victorians at the population level and to provide comparison, within the same survey, with Victoria’s non- LGBTIQ+ population.
The findings in this report will inform policy and service development to ensure health and human services are responsive to the needs of LGBTIQ+ Victorians and delivered in an inclusive and affirming way that enhances the health and wellbeing of these valued members of our community.
For the full report, see Survey data and reports.
Family violence in Victoria: findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2017
This report is the first population-representative study on family violence in the state of Victoria. It is based on the responses of 33,654 randomly selected adults aged 18 years or older to five questions, included for the first time in the 2017 Victorian Population Health Survey (VPHS).
The report investigates the prevalence of family violence, who experienced family violence, the frequency of its occurrence, the type of family violence experienced, the services accessed in response to family violence, and the knowledge of the general population about where to get outside advice or support for family violence.
For the full report, see Survey data and reports.
End of life and palliative care: a community perspective
In 2017, three questions were added to the survey questionnaire on end of life and palliative care. This was to gain an understanding of the uptake of end of life and palliative care plans in the community and to measure the informal support that is provided to people with life limiting Illness who were living at home.
For the full report, see Survey data and reports.
The health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Victorians: findings from the Victorian Population Health survey 2017
This report focuses on the cultural and social determinants of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in Victoria, based on the data collected in the 2017 VPHS.
The 2017 VPHS was part of a regular three-year cycle when the sample size of the survey is expanded to enable data to be reported at the local government area level. The expanded sample size also allowed the recruitment of enough adults who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, to enable a robust statistical analysis of the data by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status.
Additional questions pertaining to connection to culture were developed in consultation with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and were included in the 2017 survey.
For the full report, see Survey data and reports.
Reviewed 15 June 2022