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​2011 Region Report and Highlights

The region reports profile the adult Health Plan membership aged 20 and over in the Northern California region, based on self-reported data collected through mailed surveys of random samples of adult Health Plan members from 19 medical center service populations in spring 2011.

2011 Northern California Region Report

2011 Northern California Highlights Report

Sociodemographic and Health-Related Characteristics of Members Aged 65 and Over in Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Region, 2011 (February 2013)

Highlights from the 2011 survey include:

  • Obesity:

    • Approximately 60 percent of adults (53 percent of women and 67 percent of men) were overweight or obese (BMI > 25)
    • 26 percent of adults (no gender difference) were obese (BMI > 30)
    • 10 percent (11 percent of women, 9 percent of men) were moderately to severely obese (BMI > 35)

  • Smoking:

    • Nearly 30 percent (29 percent) of adults have smoked in the past
    • However, younger and middle-aged adults are less likely to report ever smoking than those in the older age group (20 percent, 32 percent, and 44 percent, respectively)
    • Within each age group, women are less likely than men to report ever smoking (18 percent vs. 22 percent. 30 percent vs. 34 percent, and 37 percent vs. 53 percent)

  • Internet access:

    • Most (94 percent) adults are able to use the Internet to search for information and able to use email (92 percent)
    • The percentages were significantly higher across all age groups compared to in 2008, with the largest increase among adults aged 65 and over
  • ​

    Beliefs about habits and lifestyle:

    • Most (85 percent) of adults believed that their health habits/lifestyle (like diet, exercise, and weight) can affect their health quite a bit or extremely
    • Only around 5 percent think that their health habits/lifestyle has little or no effect on their health

Methods

The 2011 survey was sent to a random sample of 44,000 adult health plan members aged 20 and over beginning in mid-April 2011. Sample selection was stratified by gender by five age groups (20-44, 45-64, 65-74, 75-79, 80+) by 19 medical center service populations (MCSPs). We used resultant oversampling of seniors and smaller MCSPs.

The survey questionnaire could be completed in print or online. The survey sample was sent up to three survey mailings over a five-month period. We also provided the URL to complete the survey online. In addition, the 66 percent of target members who had a registered email address with the kp.org website and had not opted out of being contacted for surveys by email were sent an email containing links to the online survey.

Members whose preferred spoken or written language was designated as a language other than English were excluded from the sampling process.

The overall survey response rate was 39.2 percent, but response varied by age group: 24 percent for ages 20-44 (30 percent for women, 19 percent for men), 41 percent for ages 45-64 (45 percent for women, 37 percent for men), and about 69 percent for ages 65 and over (no gender difference).

Contact us

Check here for announcements of new reports that have been posted to the website. For more information about timing and topics or to make special requests for statistics based on the 2011 survey, contact Nancy Gordon, Member Health Survey director, at: nancy.gordon@kp.org.