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July 13, 2005
Los Angeles, CA - Continuing its commitment to the most comprehensive assessment of the health needs of California's diverse population, The California Endowment recently awarded a $3.38 million grant to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research to support the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). The grant will help fund a telephone survey of thousands of California residents on a wide variety of topics such access to medical care, health insurance, chronic illnesses, children's health, health-related behaviors, housing and demographics.
Policymakers, health advocates, providers, researchers and many others look to CHIS as the most reliable source of ongoing data on the health status of California adults, adolescents and children. Conducted every two years, CHIS is a collaborative effort of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute.
"The California Health Interview Survey continues to be a critical tool for informing the field of public health. It enables us to identify what communities in the state are hardest hit by the burden of preventable health conditions and diseases so we can target resources more efficiently," said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment. "CHIS also provides The Endowment with an essential baseline for measuring progress in our efforts to reduce health disparities among the state's underserved communities."
The Endowment's grant will support the collection and analysis of the 2005 CHIS data, and help researchers get a richer picture of California's diverse population by funding the oversampling of small, rural counties and Asian ethnic subgroups. The funding will also support research studies on asthma, obesity, diabetes, access to health insurance and health care, as well as broad dissemination of CHIS data and publications to community-based organizations, state and local officials, researchers and policymakers.
With this new grant, The Endowment's total contributions over the last decade to the Center and CHIS near $14 million. The California Endowment was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California.
"We are pleased that The California Endowment recognized that the California Health Interview Survey is a vital resource for those working to improve the health of all Californians," said E. Richard Brown, Ph.D., director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and professor in the School of Public Health.
Initial data and results from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey will be available beginning in mid-2006. Other supporters of the 2005 California Health Interview Survey include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the California Department of Health Services, the National Cancer Institute and First 5 California.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was established in 1994 and is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers. It is also the premier source of key health policy information for California. The Center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
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