Measuring Public Health Behaviours and Intentions – Wave Two

In June 2023, the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, commissioned research and evaluation agency Verian to undertake a series of research projects and population surveys into attitudes and behaviours related to public health measures following the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealanders’ attitudes and behaviours towards public health measures and use this knowledge to better prepare the Ministry, and other decision makers, for future pandemics and other major health threats.

This work is split into two parts, each with two reports. The first part is two repeated behavioural surveys to monitor adherence to public health measures over time, covering both intention and actual behaviour. The second part is a qualitative analysis to explore drivers of COVID-19 related public health behaviours, and a report to quantify the impact of barriers and other factors on adherence to public health measures. All four reports can be found at COVID-19 behavioural science research. 

This report, Measuring public health behaviours and intentions – wave two is the second report based on repeat surveys. To inform this report, 1,642 people were surveyed online and 200 people were surveyed over the phone, between 20 May 2024 and 9 June 2024. Māori and Pacific peoples were over-sampled to ensure sufficient sample sizes for analysis. Interviewees came from different parts of New Zealand, urban and rural, and a range of occupations and living situations.

Overall, the report suggests that in June 2024, a smaller proportion of New Zealanders were following public health advice to protect themselves and others from respiratory disease when compared to November 2023.

The reports reflect the beliefs of those people surveyed and not the views of the Ministry of Health.

The report will help enhance the Ministry's understanding of people’s attitudes to public health measures and provides ideas on how to communicate important public health information and support people taking protective and preventative measures.