Irish Health Survey 2019 - Main Results

This is the second publication of the “Irish Health Survey”, the data for which was collected in 2019 and early 2020. The first health survey was collected for reference year 2015, but in a different way to how the data was collected for this publication – more detail on this follows below.

This publication is part of an EU wide health survey and in time, when other countries report on their data, we can see how the Irish health experience, as reported by people themselves, compares to that of our European neighbours.

This publication of the “Main Results” provides data and insights on various aspects of health in Ireland. Other publications using these survey results will present on the health experience of persons with disabilities and carers. The data collection for this publication was conducted between July 2019 and February 2020 and accordingly relates to the pre-pandemic health and other experiences of respondents.

The survey is based on self-reported data from persons aged 15 years and over, and outlines their view of their health status – from how well they are feeling, to the extent to which they suffer from long-standing health conditions, as well as other factors. People’s engagement with the Irish health system is also outlined – the frequency by which they access health services, to the nature of those services. The publication concludes on the health determinants of the population aged 15 years and over – what are the choices we make as regards smoking, alcohol consumption and exercise? To what extent are we as a nation overweight, as reported by the people themselves? To what extent do we use preventive health services like taking a flu vaccine or getting our blood pressure checked?

This publication outlines all of the above issues, and critically, looks at them through the lenses of relative affluence, age, sex, employment status, nationality and region. 

Unsurprisingly, people’s self-reported health status generally declines with age. Females generally report a more positive health experience than males, as do non- Irish nationals compared to Irish nationals. The publication also analyses the data by relative affluence, and it can be seen that the more disadvantaged a person is, the poorer their self-reported health status and the more they engage with the Irish health system. This publication also highlights the poorer health status of the unemployed compared to those in employment, as reported by people themselves. In particular, unemployed persons report higher levels of mental ill-health compared to those in employment.

Some key findings include:

• Affluent people are more likely to feel their health status is Very good or good than people who are disadvantaged - 92% of Very affluent persons compared to 78% of persons who are Very disadvantaged. See Table 2.1.
• Over a quarter of persons aged 15 years and over report having a long lasting condition, with older persons reporting higher levels. See Table 2.2.
• Majority of persons (82%) report no limitations in everyday activities due to a health problem. See Table 2.3.
• Over a fifth (21%) of Unemployed persons report some form of mental ill-health compared to 9% of those In employment. See Table 2.5 and Figure 2.4.
• Prevalence of hospital in-patient admissions rises with age and disadvantage level. See Table 3.2.
• In general, females and older people more likely to use a preventive health service. See Table 4.1.
• Physical activity declines with age and relative disadvantage level. See Table 4.3.
• Younger persons more likely to drink 6 or more units of alcohol in one sitting. See Table 4.5.
• Over half of persons aged 15 years and over in the State are overweight or obese. See Table 4.6.