This report provides a summary of the statewide findings from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), with highlights of changes from 2003 to 2005. In dozens of easy-to-read tables and graphs, the report features more than 80 health indicators on topics that include asthma, obesity, health insurance and health care access. It shows findings by age, gender, race and ethnicity, income level and health insurance status. The information was collected over two survey periods, allowing the report's authors to note significant changes between 2003 and 2005 in the health of Californians. Conducted every two years, CHIS is the nation's largest state health survey and CHIS data represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on the health of Californians. CHIS is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services and the Public Health Institute.

This policy brief reports that, according to the 2005 California Health Interview Survey, more than 2.5 million low-income Californians (30%) cannot afford adequate food for their families on a consistent basis. For more than 775,000 adults, this problem is so severe that they frequently reduce the quality of their food intake or go hungry. This policy brief uses data from the 2001, 2003, and 2005 California Health Interview Surveys to detail the changes in food insecurity by county, income levels, and race/ethnicity. It also describes some of the recent changes in terminology used to describe food insecurity issues. Lastly, the brief discusses some policy options that could be used to address the problems described.

Many Californians are still struggling to reach good health, according to this report from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the country's largest population-based state health survey. Entitled "Health of California's Adults, Adolescents and Children: Findings from CHIS 2003 and CHIS 2001," the new report illustrates that while half of the state's adults and adolescents report their health was "very good" or "excellent," more than one in five describe their health as "fair" or "poor." Other measures from the survey show that millions of Californians suffer the effects of ill health, limited access to health care and chronic disease. The report includes new data from CHIS 2003 on a variety of health topics -- including health conditions and limitations, health behaviors, insurance and access to care among many others -- and highlights significant changes from CHIS 2001. The report also details California's progress in achieve the healthy People 2010 objectives, a set of national health objectives created to encourage progress in the nation’s health along key health measures.

This report provides a summary of the statewide findings from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), with highlights of changes from 2003 to 2005. In dozens of easy-to-read tables and graphs, the report features more than 80 health indicators on topics that include asthma, obesity, health insurance and health care access. It shows findings by age, gender, race and ethnicity, income level and health insurance status. The information was collected over two survey periods, allowing the report's authors to note significant changes between 2003 and 2005 in the health of Californians. Conducted every two years, CHIS is the nation's largest state health survey and CHIS data represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on the health of Californians. CHIS is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services and the Public Health Institute.

In California, chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most common reportable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Medi-Cal, California's version of the Medicaid program, serves a population that is socio-demographically similar to the general at-risk STD population. While managed care enrollment provides a unique opportunity to encourage a public health approach to disease prevention and health promotion, little is known about the recommendations of STD guidelines and whether primary care providers (PCPs) follow these guidelines in Medi-Cal managed care. This report discusses the findings of a baseline survey of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), medical groups, and primary care physicians in Medi-Cal managed care conducted as part of a Medi-Cal chlamydia quality improvement initiative to assess STD recommendations and practices. Eight California counties with the largest numbers of Medi-Cal beneficiaries and largest numbers of chlamydia cases were surveyed. The survey examined factors likely to impact PCP practices. The findings of this report reflect the delivery of STD care before the initiative was implemented throughout the state.

Despite advances in therapy, asthma remains a disease that is not optimally controlled in many Californians. This policy brief examines the economic and social burden of the poor control of asthma and recommends policy changes to reduce those costs. Using data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the authors found that California's children missed 1.9 million days of school and the state's adult workers missed 2 million days of work due to asthma. As many as 475,000 children and adults in California reported that they went at least once to the emergency room or urgent care center because of asthma. The number is likely to be much higher due to repeat visits. The research adds to a growing body of knowledge about the debilitating personal and economic effects of asthma, a condition linked to pollution, lack of insurance and medical care as well as to risk factors such as smoking.

Where Californians live within the state plays an important role in determining their access to health care. This policy brief uses data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001) to examine differences in four key measures of access to care related to the county in which a person with low- to moderate-household income resides. These measures are the percent of the county population who: 1) have a usual source of care, 2) use community or government clinics as their usual source of care, 3) are uninsured for all or part of a year, and 4) delayed any type of care because of cost or insurance issues. The study also found that health insurance played a major role in determining access to care. The study’s findings have significant implications for the ongoing political debate over potential cutbacks in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs. These findings demonstrate that, for moderate-to-low income children and adults, counties differ in the levels of access experienced by their low- and moderate-income populations. Additionally, both persistent uninsurance and intermittent coverage reduce access to care and place a larger burden on community, public, and hospital-based clinics. The demands on this already-stretched safety net will likely rise with any increase in the number of uninsured people, whether that lack of coverage is short-term or long-term.

This policy brief highlights the geographic variations in obesity and overweight rates among California adults for counties, county-groups, Los Angeles Service Planning Areas, as well as for state legislative and Congressional districts. The first of-its-kind sub-county data are useful for policy makers, advocates, and health professionals in understanding the severity of unhealthy weight among adults throughout California and within local communities. Obesity rates were estimated by applying a small-area methodology to multiple data sources, including the 2003 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2003), 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census.