General health refers to a state of wellbeing and the capability to function in the face of changing circumstances. It measures a person's subjective opinion of their health. General health can be seen to depend not only on medical care, but also on other factors including individual behaviour and genetic makeup, and social and economic conditions. The reference is to health in general rather than the present state of health, therefore it is not intended to measure temporary health problems.
Reporting of 'bad' or 'very bad' general health was higher in the older age groups, but there were exceptions to this trend. Among females, those aged 55 to 64 years had the highest prevalence, with almost one in ten (7.9%) reporting 'bad' or 'very bad' health. Males in the same age group reported a similar rate (8.2%), the second‑highest for males after those aged 75 years and over (11.2%).
For both sexes, people aged 65 to 74 years reported 'bad' or 'very bad' general health at rates comparable to those 20 years younger. Among the youngest adults (15 to 24 years), females were three times as likely as males to report 'bad' or 'very bad' health, 4.4% compared with 1.4%.
Females were more likely to have experienced a delay in healthcare in the last 12 months due to waiting times. While this may be partly related to females generally reporting a higher need for healthcare, this alone does not account for the size of the difference. For example, among those aged 15 to 24 years, females were almost twice as likely as males to have experienced a delay due to waiting times, despite only a marginal difference in reported need - 72.3% for females compared with 66.3% for males. See Table 2.2.
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