Health Survey (NI): First Results 2023/24
Date published:
The Department of Health today published the Health Survey (NI): First Results 2023/24 report and accompanying trend tables.
The Health Survey (NI) has run annually on a continuous basis, since 2010/11. The 2023/24 survey included questions relating to general health, mental health and wellbeing, smoking, vaping and drinking alcohol. The sample size for the survey was 3,410 individuals aged 16 and over.
Key Findings
- In 2023/24, over two-thirds of respondents (69%) rated their general health as very good or good; very good or good self-assessed general health declined with age from 86% of 16–24-year-olds to 48% of those aged 75+. Respondents living in the most deprived areas (56%) were less likely to rate their health as good or very good than those living in the other deprivation quintile areas (65% - 77%).
- A third (34%) of respondents reported having a longstanding physical or mental health condition that reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities (up from 31% on 2022/23).
- A fifth (19%) of respondents had a high GHQ12 score, which could indicate a mental health problem. This is similar to 2022/23 (20%). Respondents in the most deprived areas (27%) continue to be more likely to have a high GHQ12 score than those in the least deprived areas (15%).
- A quarter of respondents (25%) exhibited signs of loneliness by scoring highly on the UCLA loneliness scale. This was up from 19% in 2022/23. Respondents living in urban areas and those in the most deprived areas were more likely to exhibit signs of loneliness than those in rural areas and the least deprived areas respectively.
- Almost four-fifths (78%) of respondents aged 18 and over reported that they drank alcohol. This was similar to 2022/23 (77%). Male drinkers (15%) were more likely than female drinkers (9%) to report drinking on three or more days per week.
- In 2023/24, 13% of respondents smoked cigarettes; similar to the 2022/23 finding. Smoking prevalence has fallen fairly consistently over the last ten years, from 22% in 2014/15. Respondents living in the most deprived areas (23%, down from 37% in 2014/15) remain more likely to be smokers than those living in the least deprived areas (7%, down from 12% in 2014/15).
- A tenth of respondents (10%) reported that they currently use e-cigarettes or vaping devices (up from 9% in 2022/23). Use decreased with age, ranging from 19% of those aged 16-34 to 1% of those aged 75 and over. Those living in the most deprived areas (14%) were around twice as likely to use e-cigarettes as those in the least deprived areas (8%). Similarly, those living in urban areas (14%) were almost three times as likely to use e-cigarettes as those living in rural areas (5%).
- Two-fifths (41%) of respondents reported that they consumed 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day. This was down from 47% in 2022/23 though the rate remains higher than a decade ago (35% in 2014/15).
- In 2023/24, around two-thirds (64%) of adults were either overweight (37%) or obese (28%), similar to findings in 2019/20.
- In 2023/24, more than half (55%) of respondents aged 19 and over met current recommended exercise time (of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week). This was similar to 2016/17.
This publication is a summary of the main topics included in the 2023/24 Health Survey. Further bulletins and tables will be made available on the Health Survey page on the Departmental website.
Notes to editors:
- The survey was commissioned by the Department of Health and covered the period April 2023 to March 2024.
- All face-to-face household interviews were suspended in the middle of March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the survey years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 all interviews carried out on the Health Survey were conducted by telephone. For this survey year, 2023/24, face-to-face interviewing was reinstated alongside telephone interviewing in June 2023, thus the survey adopted a mixed mode methodology.
- There are a number of factors which users should take into consideration when interpreting the 2023/24 results and care should be taken when comparing these with previously published findings.
- The dual modality of the survey necessitated changes to how some questions were asked or presented as well as the response categories associated with them. This may have implications for how people responded to the survey.
- The achieved response rate on the survey for 2023/24 was 53% which is a slightly lower response compared to the normal achieved response rate of 55% in face-to-face mode pre-pandemic; the final achieved sample was 3,410 individuals.
- The precision of the survey estimates should be taken into consideration especially when broken down by sub-groups of the population; the accompanying trend tables outline the survey estimates and the respective confidence intervals.
- The demographic profile of the achieved sample has an under-representation of people aged 16 to 34 so the results are based on information that has been weighted by age-group and sex in order to better reflect the composition of the general population of Northern Ireland. In addition, the profile of respondents for telephone and face-to-face interviews was substantially different thus it was decided that the two groups should be weighted separately. Whilst the weighting should reduce bias in the results, they cannot eliminate all forms of bias which may be present in the data.
Any changes within the 2023/24 data compared with previous years should be considered in the context of all of the above and caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions from the findings.
Given the various changes in the survey methodology and wider society since the pandemic, it may be advisable to monitor any apparent changes noted in these results in the future to see if there is further evidence that these changes are indeed indicative of a permanent change.
- Unless otherwise specified, results relate to adults aged 16 and over.
- As the results are based on data collected from a sample of the population, they are subject to sampling error. This should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results. Differences reported are those that are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
- The Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (NIMDM) was used as a measure of deprivation. The NIMDM 2017 is the official measure of deprivation in Northern Ireland.
- Any material used must be acknowledged and sourced to the Health Survey Northern Ireland, Department of Health.
- This publication is available online https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/doh-statistics-and-research/health-survey-northern-ireland
- Additional information is available from:
Public Health Information and Research Branch
Information Analysis Directorate
Department of Health
Annex 2, Castle Buildings
Stormont
Belfast BT4 3SQ
Telephone: 028 9052 2523
E-mail: PHIRB@health-ni.gov.uk
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