Ten thousand households in Greater Geelong will be
randomly selected to take part in the anonymous 2024 Geelong preventative
health survey between Wednesday 7 August to Friday 6 September.
Every
three to four years, we commission this important survey to help us understand
the health and wellbeing needs of the community.
We
want to measure trends for key health indicators such as healthy eating,
physical activity, mental health, smoking, alcohol consumption, personal safety
and the health impacts of climate change.
The
results of this survey will help Council plan for infrastructure, initiatives,
programs and advocacy to meet the community’s health and wellbeing needs.
Some
of the questions include:
- In the last 12 months, did you ever worry that you would run out of money to buy food?
- In the last week, how much time did you usually spend sitting on an average weekday?
- How many serves of fruit do you usually eat each day?
- How often do you feel isolated from others?
- On a day that you have an alcoholic drink, how many standard drinks would you have?
- In the last year, have you sought professional help for a mental health related problem?
- How concerned are you about the impacts of climate change (e.g. more extreme weather events) on human health and wellbeing?
Selected
households will receive an email invitation, letter (with reply paid envelope)
or phone call from independent researcher ASDF Research.
The phone number from which residents will receive calls is 0489 926 599.
The
survey will take around 15 minutes to complete and is anonymous.
Check
out the 2021 results from the Geelong Preventative Health Survey.
All information collected will be de-identified and responses will remain
anonymous. All personal information will be handled in accordance with the
Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
The researcher collection statement is also available to view.
Deputy
Mayor Anthony Aitken
The outcomes of the survey will help Council
understand trends in the municipality’s health status and the prevalence of
emerging concerns such as vaping.
It’s
really important that we identify the issues that residents are facing when it
comes to topics like healthy eating, feeling connected and satisfaction with
life.
This
evidence-based approach could help us understand how we can respond to the high
rates of chronic disease and high-risk health behaviours in our suburbs.
It
will also show disparities in health status and behaviours across different
suburbs across the municipality.
Councillor
Sarah Hathway, Inclusion and Care portfolio chair
The City wants to hear from everyone who is contacted, including those who don't know much
about health and wellbeing.
While
participation is voluntary, we encourage all selected households to contribute
so that we can be sure that our planning takes into account your specific
need.
We want to know how the community’s health is tracking and this survey is
the most efficient and accurate way of collecting that much-needed
information.