What is the Los Angeles County Health Survey?
Why is it important?
How are survey data used?
Who uses the survey data?
How are the results of the survey reported?
How can I obtain data on the Los Angeles County
Health Survey?
What geographical area of Los Angeles County does the
survey collect data on?
What is the Los Angeles County Health Survey?
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The Los Angeles County Health Survey (LACHS) is a
population-based telephone survey that collects
information on socio-demographic characteristics, health
status, health behaviors, and access to health services
among adults and children in Los Angeles County. It was
conducted in 1997, 1999-2000, 2002-03, 2005 and again in
2007.
Why is it important?
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Population-based data are essential for public health
assessment, planning, developing and targeting health
resources, and for evaluating changes in health and
factors that influence health over time. Data from the
LACHS are not available from other private or public
sources. Data from the LACHS complement other essential
public health data sources such as vital records,
disease surveillance, hospital discharge, and other
clinically- and administratively-based information.
How are survey data used?
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Data from the survey are used throughout Los Angeles
County by numerous public and private institutions to
measure and track trends in critical areas of health.
These areas include access to health care (e.g., health
insurance coverage, barriers to receipt of services,
need for essential services, use of DHS services),
health status (e.g., chronic diseases and conditions
such as hypertension, diabetes, overweight and obesity)
and key health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use,
physical activity, high risk sexual practices). The data
are essential to support planning, funding development,
public policy and advocacy, targeting resources, and for
ongoing evaluation of changes in health outcomes. In
addition, funding agencies often require
population-based data as part of application or
evaluation processes.
Who uses the survey data?
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The data are used extensively throughout the Department
of Health Services as well as by other County
Departments (DPSS, CAO), private organizations such as
the Children's Planning Council, United Way, and the
Proposition 10 Commission, by researchers in
universities and other institutions, hospitals and
health care providers, and community-based agencies. For
example, the data were used to develop proposals to
expand public health care coverage for children and
adults in the county, and in community health
assessments (as required by SB697) by hospitals
throughout the county.
How are the results of the survey reported?
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The results of the LACHS are disseminated through
Departmental and other publications, media releases, on
the Internet, in presentations, and in peer-reviewed
papers. In addition, LACHS results are analyzed and
provided by special request.
The following is a partial list of the recent
publications using the results of the LACHS:
. LA Health briefs and fact-sheets:
. Cigarette Smoking in Los Angeles County: Local Data to
Inform Tobacco Policy
. Healthy Women, Healthy Children: Preconception Health
in Los Angeles County
. Health Indicators for Women in Los Angeles County
. Informal Caregiving: Implications for Public Health
. Alzheimer's Disease: An Emerging Public Health Concern
. Childhood Obesity: Tipping the Balance Toward Healthy
Active Children
. Diabetes
. Food Insecurity
. Influenza Vaccination
. Many County Adults Are At Risk For Heart Disease And
Stroke
. Obesity On The Rise
. Parenting Practices That Shape The Lives Of Young
Children
. Taking The First Step With A Healthy Breakfast
. Underage Drinking
Please visit our Reports
page for our latest publications:
Peer-reviewed journal articles were published in the
American Journal of Public Health, MMWR, American
Journal Of Preventative Medicine, Biosecurity &
Bioterrorism, and others.
Media releases on pertinent public health topics, e.g.,
pool safety to prevent child drowning, childhood asthma,
smoking, alcohol use, health-related quality of life,
children's and adult health insurance, overweight and
obesity, physical activity, diabetes, and hypertension.
We have filled hundreds of
requests for the LACHS
information; most of these are for custom analyses of
the data, increasing as a proportion of all requests the
number of reports we produce on the web and in hard copy
increases. Approximately 65% are from organizations
external to DHS and 35% are internal.
How can I obtain
data on the Los Angeles County Health Survey?
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1.
By searching our Reports for previously published
articles on specific topics. You can also Subscribe
Online to our mailing list to receive periodic reports
and publications. 2. The Key Indicators of Public Health
Report is
available for the 2005 Los Angeles County Health Survey.
3. Contact us via e-mail or phone, and a staff member
can assist for more specific data needs.
What geographical
area of Los Angeles County does the survey collect data
on?
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LACHS data are available for the eight Service Planning
Areas (SPAs) within Los Angeles County.
Click
here for a map of the SPAs. Data are also collected
for Health Districts and some larger cities.
