Value of Results for the Community
Our Member Population is Comparable to Northern California’s Insured Adult Population
Comparisons with the California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) show that the adult Kaiser Permanente Northern California population (40% of Northern California’s insured adult population) is very similar to the insured adult population in Northern California. (Learn more)
The Kaiser Permanente Member Health Survey gathers self-reported information rather than clinical or administrative data. The survey compares to other surveys based on self-reported data, such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS), the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
The Survey Provides Unique Information
- The Kaiser Permanente Member Health Survey is the only ongoing survey in California that provides information about how people want to obtain health information. Our survey has also been tracking computer, Internet and email access and use of the Internet for health information since 1999. These findings are especially useful for managers and designers of member and community health information and health education programs.
- Our survey tracks the use of complementary and alternative medicine and the use of herbals and other dietary supplements, such as Vitamin D and calcium.
- Our survey provides particularly robust data on seniors, based on responses from approximately 5,000 members over the age of 65 (about a 70% response rate) to questions about their quality of life, health and health-related behaviors, and IT access that can be augmented by information about them obtained from Kaiser Permanente clinical and administrative data sources.
- The survey provides data to study race-ethnic and educational disparities in behavioral health risks and health conditions in an insured population where everyone has access to the same care, preventive services, and health education.
Results Can Support Research, Planning, and Decision-Making Outside of Kaiser Permanente
The detailed information provided by the Kaiser Permanente Member Health Survey is valuable to:
- academic and institutional researchers
- planners, and managers in public health departments and other health organizations who do not have the research resources or the stable populations to take on such an ambitious project
- decision-makers responsible for public health policy
Planners can use information from the Member Health Survey to recommend services that improve the health and well-being of their health plan members or adults in the community. With estimates of the percentages of men and women in different age groups who have specific health problems (like diabetes or depression) and behavioral health risks (like smoking), planners can also predict the resources that may be required to provide these education and treatment services now and in the future, as populations age. The information about preferred methods of obtaining health information that are segmented by age, gender, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity can be used by planners to develop strategies for communications and health education for the populations they serve.