How healthy are they?

Some people with disability experience poorer health than other Australians, engage in behaviours that increase their risk of poor health, or experience barriers (such as cost) in accessing or using health services.

General and mental health

Based on self-reported data, people with disability are more likely to have poorer general and mental health than people without disability.

Table HEALTH.1.1: Self-assessed general health, by disability status

Self-assessed general health

Adults
with disability(a)

Adults
without disability(a)

Very good or excellent

24%

65%

Good

34%

28%

Fair or poor

42%

7%

 (a) Living in households (2017–18).

Table HEALTH.1.2: Self-reported level of psychological distress (K10), by disability status

Self-reported level of psychological distress (K10)

Adults
with disability(a)

Adults
without disability(a)

Low or moderate

68%

92%

High or very high

32%

8%

(a) Living in households (2017–18).

Health risk behaviours

Health risk factors and behaviours (such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and smoking) can have a detrimental effect on a person’s health. People with disability are more likely to engage in some risky health behaviours than people without disability.

Table HEALTH.2: Selected health risk factors and behaviours, by disability status

Selected health risk factors and behaviours

With disability(a)

Without disability(a)

Do not eat enough fruit and vegetables each day
(aged 2+)


47%

41%

Drink sugar sweetened drinks daily (aged 2+)

12%

8%

Are overweight or obese based on measured body mass index (aged 2+)

72%

55%

Have an increased risk of chronic disease based
on measured waist circumference (aged 18+)


76%

59%

Do not do enough physical activity for their age (including at work) (aged 15+)

72%

52%

Have measured high blood pressure (adults)

54%

27%

Smoke daily (aged 15+)

18%

12%

Exceed the lifetime risk guidelines for alcohol consumption (aged 15+)(b)

14%

16%

Exceed the single occasion risk guidelines for
alcohol consumption (aged 15+)(c)


31%

44%

(a) Living in households (2017–18).

(b) Consumed more than 2 standard drinks of alcohol per day on average.

(c) Consumed more than 4 standard drinks of alcohol on a single occasion in the past year.

Barriers to accessing health services

Some people with disability experience difficulties accessing and using health services. This includes longer than desired waiting times, the cost of services, the accessibility of buildings, discrimination by health professionals, and a lack of communication between different health professionals treating them.

Table HEALTH.3: Barriers to accessing and using health services

Waiting times(a)

1 in 5 (22%) who see a GP wait longer than they feel is acceptable to get the appointment

1 in 4 (24%) wait 1 or more days after making an appointment to see a GP for urgent medical care

1 in 2 (45%) on a public dental waiting list wait 1 month to more than 1 year for dental care

Cost(a)

1 in 5 (19%) who delay seeing or do not see a GP, do so because of the cost

1 in 4 (27%) who do not see a medical specialist when they need to, do so mainly because of the cost

2 in 3 (64%) who delay seeing or do not see a dental professional, do so because of the cost

1 in 4 (24%) who delay going or do not go to hospital, do so because of the cost

Communication between health professionals(a)

1 in 6 (17%) who see 3 or more different health professionals for the same health condition report issues caused by lack of communication among them

Discrimination(b)

1 in 6 (17%) who have experienced disability discrimination in the last year said it was from health staff (GP, nurse or hospital staff)

Accessing buildings(c)

2 in 5 (38%) who had difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last year had difficulty accessing medical facilities (GP, dentist or hospital)

Unmet need for health care(c)

1 in 6 (17%) who need help with health care have their need only partly met or not met at all

(a) Aged under 65 living in households (2015).

(b) Aged 15–64 living in households (2015).

(c) Aged 5–64 living in households (2015).

Current data make it difficult to directly compare health-care access issues for people with disability to those without disability. However, available data suggest that people with disability are more likely than the general Australian population to face barriers, such as cost, when accessing some types of health services.