Health Status of the Uninsured: Opportunities for Improvement

Provides estimates of the geographic variations in the rates of self-reported fair or poor health status, asthma, and hypertension among uninsured children and adults in California

Exiting From Large-Scale Initiatives: Lessons and Insights From a National Scan of Philanthropy

This article shares insights and lessons from a research project commissioned by The California Endowment in early 2016 to inform the planning for its transition out of Building Healthy Communities, a 10-year, place-based, policy- and systems-change initiative. The goal of the nationwide study, which included literature reviews and interviews with 30 executives and directors from 17 foundations, was to tap into philanthropic leaders’ accumulated wisdom about exiting out of similar initiatives. In generalizing the study’s findings for the broader philanthropic audience, this article presents a guiding framework for exit and sustainability planning in the form of a set of recommendations that relate to issues such as managing relationships between funder and grantee partners during the exit, using the initiative’s theory of change as a tool for decision-making, finding a balance between demonstrable success and equity, and managing the internal processes of the funding organization. The research shows that even though an exit is inherently difficult, it is possible to carry out in a way that does not undermine the accomplishments of the initiative and leaves the foundation and its grantee partners in strengthened positions

Redefining Expectations for Place-based Philanthropy

This article discusses how The California Endowment has used a midcourse strategic review to refine Building Healthy Communities, aiming to provide insight for other place-based initiatives and to add to the body of knowledge about how to support transformative community change. With Building Healthy Communities, the endowment is taking a new approach to community change using a dual strategy to build community capacity in 14 places and scale the impact of its local efforts through statewide policy advocacy and communications. In 2013, it commissioned a strategic review to reflect on what it has learned from the first three years of this innovation in place-based work. Through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and document review, examples have emerged of how this unique approach is contributing to community change. The review also surfaced tensions created by the design and implementation of the strategy that could impede progress

Chronic Conditions of Californians: Findings From the 2003 California Health Interview Survey

Provides an overview of prevalence rates for chronic disease and descriptive data on the characteristics of selected chronic illnesses among adults and children. Describes difficulties and barriers patients face when seeking access to health care

Chronic Conditions of Californians: Findings from the 2003 Health Interview Survey

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in California and have become among the most common, costly, and often preventable of all health problems. Chronic Conditions of Californians reports that in 2003, 11.5 million California adults over age 18 were living with one or more chronic conditions including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, or fair/poor health status. In addition, 1.9 million children ages 1-17 were living with asthma or fair/poor health status.This report presents data on each chronic condition as well as on summary indicators for California counties and Los Angeles County SPAs. It also presents the socioeconomic and demographic profiles of those with chronic conditions, and the actual access problems and potential barriers to obtaining health care of all persons in those areas. A summary index of chronic conditions and these access indicators suggest areas in the state with the greatest overall burden from chronic conditions on local health systems. Overall, the Colusa/Glenn/Tehama county group, Kern County, Madera County, and Merced County had the worst chronic illness related summary indicators.Supplemental exhibits offer confidence intervals for all data found in the report, a map of the chronic conditions index among children ages 1-17 living with asthma or fair/poor health status, additional regional data on limited English proficiency and uninsured rates per chronic condition among adults, uninsured rates among children with asthma, and selected population characteristics among adults and children.This data is a useful tool for health planners and policy makers with which to target public health interventions and plan health service provision

Turning the Ship: Moving From Clinical Treatment to Environmental Prevention: A Health Disparities Policy Advocacy Initiative

· This article examines success factors for a statewide initiative to reduce health disparities by establishing environmental policies to reduce asthma risk factors for school-aged children. · Twelve local coalitions and a statewide network focused on schools, housing, and outdoor air policies. · Multiple types and levels of policy advocacy were encouraged by the Initiative so that issues at the local level linked to larger issues across the state, and conversely state-level policies supported local endeavors. · Factors that contributed to the success of the initiative included: structuring the initiative on a systems change model; employing multiple technical assistance providers to assure fidelity to the model, building capacity, facilitating strategic partnerships, and facilitating mid-course adjustments; communicating “intentional” policy outcomes from the foundation; and structuring an evaluation team to analyze multi-level data and provide feedback at all levels. · Local coalitions that developed meaningful community engagement and used data to educate policy makers were the most successful

Falls, Disability and Food Insecurity Present Challenges to Healthy Aging

Falls, disability and hunger are surprisingly common aspects of life for California seniors, according to this policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. More than one out of five California seniors experience one or more of these issues which – separate from medical conditions often related to aging – present significant challenges to independent living. Using data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, the authors look at the prevalence of falls, disability, and hunger among California seniors, and then analyze how these issues relate to each other. The authors also identify relationships between these issues and incident of chronic health conditions, income, and race/ethnicity

Falls, Disability and Food Insecurity Present Challenges to Healthy Aging

Falls, disability and hunger are surprisingly common aspects of life for California seniors, according to this policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. More than one out of five California seniors experience one or more of these issues which – separate from medical conditions often related to aging – present significant challenges to independent living. Using data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, the authors look at the prevalence of falls, disability, and hunger among California seniors, and then analyze how these issues relate to each other. The authors also identify relationships between these issues and incident of chronic health conditions, income, and race/ethnicity

Over Four Million California Adults Age 45 and Older Have High Blood Pressure

This policy brief highlights the geographic variations in hypertension 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 in this publication are useful for policy makers, advocates and medical providers in understanding the burden of the condition in local communities across California. Hypertension rates were estimated by applying a small-area methodology to multiple data sources, including the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census

Asthma among California's Children, Adults and the Elderly: A Geographic Look by Legislative Districts

This policy brief highlights the geographic variations in asthma rates among all Californians for state legislative and Congressional districts. The information is particularly relevant at this time as new asthma cases continue to arise in the population. The first of-its-kind sub-county data are useful for policy makers, advocates, and medical providers who are working to address the growing problem of asthma throughout California and within local communities. Asthma symptom rates were estimated by applying a small-area methodology to multiple data sources, including the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census