Health and disability's

The 2023 Census of Curaçao included a dedicated health module to assess the overall health status, healthcare coverage, and prevalence of functional limitations and chronic conditions within the population. This summary synthesizes the key results across four domains:

1. Self-perceived health
2. Functional limitations and disability
3. Chronic illnesses and/or conditions
4. Health insurance coverage

Findings are further grouped by key demographic and socio-economic variables, including age, gender, education level, place of birth, employment status, marital-cohabitation status, and geographic location. 

Self-perceived health | 84.4% of the participants rated their health as good to very good, while 10.7% rated it as fair and 2.3% as poor to very poor. Males (85.7%) were slightly more positive in their health perception than females (83.3%). Perceived health declines with age and improves with the level of education and employment. In 2011, 89.9% of the participants rated their health as good to very good, indicating a decline in 2023 (85.7%). A correlation was found between poor health perception and the presence of chronic illness or disability. 

Disabilities and functional limitations | Following Washington Group Short Set methodology, 8.2% of individuals aged 15+ reported having at least one disability (defined as “a lot of difficulty” or “cannot do at all” in at least one functional domain). The highest disability prevalence is seen in females (9.2%); aged 65+ (females 24.5%; males 19.3%); education level 1 (16.6% vs 3.5% in education level 4); and economically inactive (16.7% vs 1.9% in employed individuals). The top three consequences of any disability/limitation were difficulty performing any paid work (4.9%), walking (3.9%), and difficulty performing household tasks (3.8%). Respondents born in Portugal reported more limitations compared to those who were born in Curaçao; respondents born in the Netherlands reported fewer. People with disabilities were significantly less likely to report good or very good health. 

Chronic illnesses and/ or conditions | Of the total population, 33.2% indicate having one or more chronic illnesses and/or conditions. The most reported are high blood pressure (19%), diabetes mellitus (8.4%), and asthma (3.4%). Prevalence of chronic illness increases with age: 0-14 years (8.3%) and 65+ (61.6%). Females reported 7.3 percentage points more chronic illnesses than men. Education level 1 shows a higher prevalence of chronic illness vs education level 4 (44.1% vs 36.9%). Employment status plays a protective role as employed individuals reported fewer chronic conditions. A proportion of reported illnesses were medically diagnosed, while some remained self-reported only, suggesting possible underdiagnoses. Individuals with chronic illnesses were less likely to report good or very good health. 

Health insurance coverage | In total, 97.3% of the respondents during this Census are covered by one or more forms of insurance. Most common coverage is BVZ (Basis Verzekering Ziektekosten/SVB Seguro Basiko), indicating 85% of the insured population. Additional insurance types are BVZ supplementary plans, private insurance, self-insurance, and foreign insurance. In the responders, 2.7% were uninsured or unsure of their insurance status. Higher uninsured rates were found among: persons not born in Curaçao; those with an education level 1 (4.4%); and individuals who are cohabiting but not married.