You may have come to this website because you have been invited to take part in the New Zealand Health Survey, and want to find out more about it.
Every year about 9,000 New Zealand households take part in the survey.
Addresses from across New Zealand are chosen at random, with different households invited to take part in the survey each month.
From each selected household, one adult and one child will be invited to take part in the survey (a parent or guardian can complete the survey on behalf of the child).
The survey collects information about common health conditions and diseases, health services used, and factors that affect New Zealanders’ health.
This information is used to give a picture of the health of New Zealanders, and how we use health services such as GPs and hospitals. It will also enable us to develop better health programmes and services.
Information about the survey is available to download in various languages on this page.
About the interview
The interview takes about one hour for adults and about 30 minutes for children.
Households get a letter from the Ministry of Health inviting them to take part in the survey, and then get a visit from an interviewer to see if they want to take part. The letter will have a contact telephone number in case you prefer to arrange a time for the interviewer to visit you.
If you choose to take part, the interview will take place in your home.
The interview will be carried out by trained interviewers from a company called Ipsos (formerly CBG Health Research). Ipsos is a New Zealand company experienced in carrying out surveys.
During the interview, the interviewer will ask to measure your height and weight. However, if you would rather not be measured, you can simply tell them.
Overall results from the survey will be published on the Ministry of Health website.
Your privacy
The information you give to the interviewer is protected by the Privacy Act 2020 and won’t be discussed with anyone and no one else will know that you have taken part in the survey.
The answers you give are added to other people’s answers to create grouped results, so your information cannot be traced to you.
For example, we are interested in the number of children who have asthma in New Zealand. If your child has asthma, his/her information will be grouped with information from a large number of other children. No information that could identify your child will be given to other government departments or researchers.
At the end of the interview, you will be asked permission to combine your survey information with other health-related information that has already been collected, such as information on hospital admissions. This means we can look at more complex health issues.
Your information will always remain confidential.
Need more information?
For more information about the New Zealand Health Survey, contact Ipsos, the company carrying out the interviews, on 0800 478 783.
