In order to assess the perceived health status of respondents an internationally recognised set
of indicators was used:

• Proportion who did not experience difficulty accessing health care
• Proportion who rated their health good/excellent during past four weeks
• Proportion who did not have difficulty in doing daily work
• Proportion whose usual social activities were not limited by physical/emotional problems.

The index thus provides a self-reported assessment of how respondents perceive their health and thereby provides a useful measure of how respondents feel both physically and mentally about dealing with the daily challenges that their context and situation poses. The index ranges from 0 (bad) to 1 (excellent).

The healthiest people in the GCR live in Midvaal, followed by Sasolburg and Westonaria. Those with the lowest health index score came from Merafong, Emfuleni and Randfontein.