Pfizer have today released their latest Health Index at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin. The Pfizer Health Index is a national study of health and wellness.
It focuses on topics such as attitudes and perception of health, disease incidence, illness experience and impact, health funding, interaction with medical services and levels of health insurance.
Each year, the Pfizer Health Index focuses on a particular topic and this year, the topic of health in the workplace was chosen. The survey asked questions such as how workers feel about health and wellbeing, how stressful their jobs are and how and whether employers in Ireland prioritise workplace health.
The majority of people surveyed (63%) rate their health as 8 out of 10 or higher with 14% giving their health a score of 10 out of 10. Key personal priorities for Irish people continue to be family health and wellbeing, personal health and financial health.
According to the research, the volume of people holding a medical card dropped just one point from 2016 to 42%. Numbers of medical card holders in Ireland first began to increase in 2010 and remain at recessionary levels. In terms of medical insurance levels, 26% of people of those surveyed have neither private medical insurance or a medical card.
Furthermore, engagement with medical professions is relatively high with 30% of those surveyed having visited their GP in the last month and 41% having attended a screening in the last year.
In terms of workplace health, the Pfizer Health Index found that 80% of Irish workers feel they have a good work/life balance and 88% of people find the content of their job interesting. The vast majority of people say they have a good relationship with colleagues with 92% of those surveyed giving their work relationships a ranking of between 3 and 5. The average number of sick days per year is 3.56.
The survey found that Irish people view the greatest priorities for Government spending as – 1. health (75%), 2. education (50%) and 3. job creation (30%).
Unveiling the Pfizer Health Index findings, Managing Director of Pfizer Ireland, Paul Reid said, "Each year, the Pfizer Health Index shines a light on a new aspect of health policy. This year, as the economy recovers and employment levels continue to rise, it is timely to be focusing on workplace health and to ask questions of employers and employees - as one of Ireland’s largest private sector employers, at Pfizer we are pleased to participate in the conversation."
He added, "Against a backdrop of economic renewal, it is also noteworthy, that again in 2017, the survey shows that people view health as the greatest priority area for Government spending."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
