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Latest Hunter wellbeing research

Download 2011 Wellbeing Watch publicationWellbeing_Watch_2011_front_page_sml

Wednesday, 16 November 2011
MEDIA RELEASE
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Hunter happiness high in wellbeing index

Hunter residents are relatively positive about their lives, with the latest average score for the Region’s level of wellbeing 4.07 out of 5, findings from the third edition of the Hunter Valley Research Foundation’s (HVRF) Wellbeing Watch: A monitor of health, wealth and happiness publication have shown.

HVRF Research Fellow, Dr Rod Ling, will release some of the key findings from the third HVRF wellbeing survey, conducted in 2009, at the Foundation’s Wellbeing Watch lunch at Merewether Surfhouse today. 

“Respondents with the highest wellbeing scores felt very happy, very satisfied with their life achievements, extremely valued by others, very satisfied with their standard of living, extremely optimistic about their future, and very satisfied with their lives as a whole,” Rod said. “However, in 2009, 11.4% of Hunter residents scored low wellbeing, with an average score of 3.3 or below. The factors most associated with low level of wellbeing include being unemployed, self-perception of prosperity (poor or very poor), dissatisfaction with current accommodation, dissatisfaction with neighbourhood, self-assessment of health (poor or fair), and not being in a relationship.”

Some of the key findings of the study include:

  • Hunter Indigenous residents were significantly less likely to be satisfied with their standard of living
  • Unemployed Hunter residents averaged a significantly lower wellbeing score than those in paid employment and all others (students, those on home duties, pensioners and retirees)
  • The Hunter had significantly lower proportions of residents than the rest of NSW with university qualifications at both undergraduate and post-graduate level
  • Hunter residents living alone and sole parents had significantly lower average wellbeing than those living with other adults (with or without children)
  • Only 65.5% of respondents felt safe walking alone in their local area after dark, significantly lower than for the rest of NSW (72.5%)
  • 32.6% of Hunter residents were concerned about dangerous or noisy driving in their neighbourhoods
  • 26.8% of Hunter residents were concerned about louts, youths, gangs and prowlers in their neighbourhoods
  • 25.8% of Hunter residents were concerned about house breaking, burglaries of theft
  • Almost one in four Hunter residents felt worn out most, or all, of the time
  • In 2009, 18.3% of residents either smoked daily or occasionally
  • One in 10 Hunter residents reported eating the daily requirements of vegetables. These people scored higher average wellbeing than those who did not meet the requirement
  • 60% of Hunter residents had self-reported height and weight resulting in BMI scores than classified them as either overweight or obese
  • More than 20% of Hunter residents reported dental problems in the previous 12 months which went untreated and 15.2% delayed seeing a GP for themselves or their dependent children when they felt it was necessary.

Speakers:
 Adjunct Professor Mike Salvaris, RMIT Melbourne
  “Measuring community wellbeing in Australia”
 
 Dr Rod Ling, Research Fellow, Hunter Valley Research Foundation
  “Wellbeing Watch: A monitor of health, wealth & happiness in the Hunter”
 
 Cr Martin Rush, Chairman, Hunter Councils
 “Why councils need community indicators”

A copy of Wellbeing Watch: A monitor of health, wealth and happiness in the Hunter will be available at the lunch, or can be downloaded from www.hvrf.com.au