Press releases and reports - SELF-ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH BY UKRAINIAN POPULATION

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SELF-ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH BY UKRAINIAN POPULATION

Press-release was prepared by Daryna Pyrogova.

From May 19 to May 29, 2015 the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted All–Ukrainian poll. 2022 respondents at the age of 18 years and older living in 108 regions of Ukraine (except for Crimea) were surveyed by the method of interview using random sampling.

In Lugansk region surveys were conducted only on the territory controlled by Ukraine. In Donetsk region surveys were conducted in areas controlled by Ukraine and Donetsk (which are uncontrolled by Ukraine).

The statistical error of sample (with probability 0.95 and at design–effect 1.5) doesn't exceed the following: 3,3% for indicators which are close to 50%, 2,8% – for indicators which are close to 25%, 2,0% – for indicators which are close to 10%, 1,4 – for indicators which are close to 5%.

With the help of Omnibus research, KIIS monitors the dynamics of self-evaluation of health status of Ukraine since 1995. For a long time we noted a deterioration of that self-evaluation. However, from the early 2000s, there is a gradual increase of positive answers to this
question.

In May 2015 40,5% of questioned adults rated their health as good or even very good, which twice exceeds the corresponding figure of 2001 (19.2%). Meanwhile, there is a reduction of those who negatively assesses their health: from 31.4% in the year 2001 to 17.7% in 2015.

Dynamics of answers to the question "How would you rate your health?" in 1995-2015 years

	1995	1998	2001	2005	2009	2013	2015
Very good	1,3%	1,6%	1,4%	4,7%	3,8%	5,5%	3,7%
Good	21,1%	18,2%	17,8%	26,4%	31,8%	33,3%	36,8%
Mediocre	45,1%	50,6%	49,2%	42,9%	41,8%	42,9%	40,7%
Bad	22,8%	21,0%	21,9%	21,3%	17,3%	14,4%	15,1%
Very bad	8,6%	7,1%	9,5%	4,2%	4,0%	3,3%	2,6%
Hard to say	1,1%	1,5%	0,2%	0,4%	1,4%	0,8%	1,0%

Let’s consider a number of factors that may be associated with health. It is expected that the health is directly related to age. In 2015, compared to 2013, the percentage of people who positively assessed their health, has increased in age groups 30-44 and 45-59 years by 4% and 6% respectively, but decreased in the age groups 18-29 and 60+ years by 2% and 2% respectively. When we analyze the groups by gender, we ascertain that men compared to women traditionally have higher self-assessment of health and this is typical of all age groups. We can assume that men are generally less attentive to their health, compared to women.

The percentage of healthy people of different gender and age groups (2001-2015)

	Men					Woman					Total
	2001	2005	2009	2013	2015	2001	2005	2009	2013	2015	2001	2005	2009	2013	2015
18-29 years	53%	70%	72%	78%	73%	27%	54%	66%	69%	72%	40%	53%	69%	74%	72%
30-44 years	27%	51%	61%	59%	57%	16%	27%	37%	45%	51%	22%	38%	49%	52%	56%
45-59 years	19%	29%	25%	26%	30%	6%	14%	18%	22%	29%	12%	21%	21%	24%	30%
60 and older	10%	11%	14%	12%	11%	3%	5%	4%	9%	7%	6%	7%	8%	10%	9%
Total	28%	41%	45%	46%	45%	12%	22%	28%	33%	37%	19%	31%	36%	39%	41%

Another factor that positively affects the health is education: the higher it is, the healthier people feel. This can be explained by the fact that high level of education helps to find a job with better working conditions.

Percentage of the healthy persons among respondents of different educational level (2013-2015)

	2013	2015
Junior secondary education	16%	12%
Vocational education	35%	34%
Complete secondary general education	37%	37%
Graduate degree	52%	54%

The survey also demonstrates the direct connection between the level of material well-being and self-care of respondents. Obviously, a higher level of well-being provides the best possible care of their health.

Percentage of the healthy persons among different groups, based on self-assessment of the financial situation * (2013-2015)

	2013	2015
We don’t have enough money even for food	12%	23%
We have enough money for food, but buying clothes is difficult	29%	33%
We have enough money for food and clothes and we can set aside some money but it is not enough to buy such things as, for example, a refrigerator or a TV	50%	58%
We can buy some expensive things (such as TV or fridge) but we can't afford everything we want	60%	71%

* Note: the category of those who chose the answer "We can afford anything we want" was excluded from the analysis through a small filling of this group

Among those who live in villages, 32% of people who assess their health as good or very good, and among the inhabitants of the cities - 44%. One explanation of such differences is that the working conditions and the level of material well-being traditionally are better in urban areas.

The percentage of healthy respondents, living in rural and urban areas (2015)

	2015
Countryside	32%
City area	44%

The very first thing that we traditionally wish our family and friends for the holidays - is health and happiness. And we see that these two concepts are closely related. Positive assessment of our own health usually affects the general well-being. Among respondents who evaluate their health as good - 71% of those who feels happy, and among those who rate their health as bad, are much less happy - 37%.