What is the Health and Wellbeing Index?

The Health and Wellbeing Index is a summary measure of how residents rate their own wellbeing. It is based on the average of three self-reported measures – physical health, mental health and social wellbeing – each rated by survey respondents on a scale from 0 to 10. The index itself is expressed on the same 0 to 10 scale, and the three component scores remain available separately. This article explains what feeds the index and how to interpret it, for anyone using Community Views results in planning, reporting or advocacy.

Key concepts

The three component measures

Survey respondents rate their physical health, their mental health and their social wellbeing, each on a scale from 0 to 10. At .id, we use three measures because they are based on the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health, and capture different but complementary dimensions of personal wellbeing, rather than relying on health status alone.

Self-reported scores

The scores are self-reported: they record how respondents rate their own wellbeing when they complete the survey, not an external assessment. Results reflect the responses collected in a survey wave, so they are a snapshot of how the community felt at that time. The collection date appears at the top of each chart on the Community Views platform.

A headline measure with visible components

The index brings the three measures together into a single summary score. Because the individual physical health, mental health and social wellbeing scores remain available separately, you can use the index as a headline measure while still seeing what is driving the overall result – for example, whether a change in the index reflects a shift in one component or across all three.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What feeds the Health and Wellbeing Index?

A: Three self-reported measures: physical health, mental health and social wellbeing. Respondents rate each on a scale from 0 to 10, and the index is based on the average of the three, also expressed on a 0 to 10 scale.

Q: Can I see the three scores separately?

A: Yes. The individual physical health, mental health and social wellbeing scores remain available separately, so you can see what is driving the overall result.

Q: Why use three measures rather than a single health question?

A: At .id, we use three measures because they capture different but complementary dimensions of personal wellbeing, rather than relying on health status alone.

Q: Is the Health and Wellbeing Index the same as the Overall Liveability Index?

A: No. The Overall Liveability Index combines the importance residents place on 16 liveability attributes with their experience of them, giving a score out of 100. The Health and Wellbeing Index is based on the average of three self-reported wellbeing measures and is expressed on a 0 to 10 scale.