NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2009
Contact: Jamie Arehart (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267-350-7699)

One of the Largest Regional Health Surveys in the U.S. Expands to Lancaster County

Household Health Survey Data for Lancaster County Now Public

PHILADELPHIA-Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) releases its 2008 Household Health Survey data for Lancaster County today. Conducted by PHMC's Community Health Data Base (CHDB), the survey, which examines the health and health care experiences of area residents, is one of the largest regional health surveys in the country.

Since 1983, CHDB has surveyed Philadelphia and, 1991, expanded to include all of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties). It now reaches Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill counties for the first time. A snapshot of data highlights and trends for Lancaster County include:

Overall picture for adults (ages 18-64) in the past year

  • Well over half (60.9%) are overweight or obese (representing 220,000)
    • Men (69.3%) are more likely to be overweight or obese than women (53.1%)
  • 16.2% smoke cigarettes some days or every day (representing 60,000 residents)
  • One in five (19.3%) visited an emergency room

Ethnicity trends

  • Black/African American (36.8%) and Latino (28.3%) adults are more likely to be smokers than White (14.4%) adults
  • White adults are more likely (86.8%) to identify a doctor's office as their regular source of care than are Black/African American (67.2%) and Latino adults (70.3%)
  • 16.1% of all ethnic minority adults are uninsured compared to 4.8% White adults

Poverty

  • 7.2% of adults live below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line
    • 42.6% of these adults visited the emergency room in the past year
    • More than one third (38.3%) of these adults smoke, compared to 14.4% of those living above 100% of the Federal Poverty Line
  • Quality of groceries varies by poverty status:
    • 94.4% of adults living above 100% of the Federal Poverty Line said the quality of groceries in their neighborhoods was "excellent" or "good, while only 8.6% of adults living below the Federal Poverty Line said the same


Facts about CHDB's Household Health Survey

  • The 2008 Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill Household Health Survey includes information on 3,000 households (1,000 households per county) on topic areas including health status, access to care, health behaviors, and health screenings.
  • The survey in Berks, Lancaster, and Schuylkill Counties is funded by the Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, an affiliate of Public Health Management Corporation.
  • Funders of the Community Health Data Base and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey include The Pew Charitable Trusts, The William Penn Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and over 350 local agencies.
  • Hundreds of organizations, including hospitals, government agencies, universities and managed care organizations, use the survey data to help them plan, market, and improve healthcare and social services in the region.

More Information on 2008 Findings

CHDB Project Director Francine Axler and her team will debut a more detailed look at Lancaster County data on May 27 at the Lancaster General Wellness Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event, which is free and provides lunch, will include more information on the survey, how to gain an all-access-pass to data as well a sneak peek of exclusive data trends and highlights.

For media inquiries, please call contact Jamie Arehart at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267-350-7699. For more information on CHDB, please contact Francine Axler at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 215-985-2521 or visit www.phmc.org/chdb.