Women's Health in California: Wide disparities, narrow options

​​ August 7, 2008 - A comprehensive new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research looks at a broad range of women’s health issues and finds a common theme: disparity. 

Women’s Health in California: Health Status, Health Behaviors, Health Insurance Coverage and Use of Services Among California Women Ages 18-64 examines multiple measures of women’s health in California and finds troubling gaps for low-income and uninsured women, as well as minority women. Among the findings:

• Poverty: Low-income women are three times more likely than non low-income women to report their health as fair or poor.
  
  Latinas: The uninsured rate for Latinas for all or part of 2005 was three times higher than the rate for white women – 39.3% vs. 13.4%. Well over one-third of Salvadoran, Mexican and Guatemalan women were uninsured for all or part of 2005, the most recent date for which data is available.
  
  Asians: Among Asian-Americans, Korean women had the highest uninsured rate - 38%.
  
  Obesity: 20.6% of women ages 18-64 are obese and 25.5% are overweight. Higher rates of obesity are seen among women who are older, African American, have lower incomes, have not completed high school, and report their health as fair or poor.
  
  Exercise: Only one in three women ages 18-64 obtains the recommended amount of regular physical activity.

The report draws upon more than 50,000 telephone interviews conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy - administered California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the nation's largest state health survey.