SELF-ASSESSED HEALTH STATUS

Self-assessed health status is a commonly used measure of overall health which reflects a person's perception of his or her own health at a given point in time. It is a useful measure of a person's current health status and provides a broad picture of a population's overall health.

In 2014-15, over half (56.2%) of all Australians aged 15 years and over considered themselves to be in excellent or very good health, while 14.8% rated their health as fair or poor. This is similar to how Australians rated their health in 2011-12 (55.1% and 14.6% respectively) and 2007-08 (55.8% and 15.1% respectively).

Younger Australians generally rate themselves as having better health than older people, with 63.4% of 15-24 years olds rating their health as being excellent or very good in 2014-15, compared with 34.5% of people aged 75 years and over. Men and women generally assess their overall health similarly (with 54.8% of men and 57.6% of women rating their health as being excellent or very good in 2014-15).



Around two-thirds (66.1%) of people living in areas of least disadvantage (fifth quintile) rated their health as being excellent or very good in 2014-15, compared with less than half (43.8%) of people living in areas of most disadvantage (first quintile). This was similar to the pattern in 2011-12 (64.1% and 43.8% respectively).