City seeks health snapshot

HOUSEHOLDS across Greater Geelong might receive an email, letter or phone call over the next month as the City of Greater Geelong runs this year’s Geelong Preventative Health Survey.

Aimed at helping the city better understand the health and wellbeing needs of the local community, the survey will measure the trends of several key health indicators such as healthy eating, physical activity, mental health, smoking and the health impacts of climate change.

The city commissions the survey every three to four years – with the previous survey conducted in 2021 – and the results will be used to inform the council’s plan for infrastructure, initiatives, programs and advocacy.

Deputy mayor Anthony Aitken said the outcomes of the survey would help the city 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 in life,” he said.

“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.”

The Geelong Preventative Health Survey will be conducted between now and September 6 by independent researcher ASDF Research, and 10,000 households across Greater Geelong will be randomly selected to participate.

Some of the questions included in this year’s survey are:

• In the past 12 months, did you ever worry that you would run out of money to buy food?
• In the past week, how much time did you usually spend sitting on an average weekday?
• How many servings of fruit do you usually eat each day?
• How often do you feel isolated from others?
• In the past year, have you sought professional help for a mental health related problem?, and
• How concerned are you about the impacts of climate change (e.g. more extreme weather events) on human health and wellbeing?

The survey is estimated to take about 15 minutes to complete, and all information collected will be de-identified and responses will remain anonymous.

Chair of the city’s inclusion and care portfolio Cr Sarah Hathway said the city wanted to hear from everyone who was contacted, including those who didn’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 needs.

“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.”

Residents are advised the phone number from which survey calls will be received is 0489 926 599.