How good is health care in Connecticut? Do residents have ready
access to high-quality care? How does insurance -- public plans,
private plans or no coverage at all -- impact the quality of care
Connecticut residents receive?
Questions like these will be addressed in an upcoming survey of
Connecticut residents developed by an unusual collaboration of five
state-based foundations focused on health issues: the Aetna
Foundation; the Connecticut Health Foundation; the Donaghue
Foundation; the Foundation for Community Health; and the Universal
Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.
The research, modeled on similar national surveys, will be the
first of its kind in Connecticut to examine patient views of health
care at the state and county levels. Results are expected in early
2013 in a report entitled, “The State of Health for the State of
Connecticut.”
“Patient experiences offer a unique perspective on health and
the performance of the health care system, especially for people of
color, low-income families and other underserved populations,” said
Gillian Barclay, D.D.S., Dr.P.H., vice president of the Aetna
Foundation, which spearheaded the project. “By surveying patients
here in Connecticut, we can develop a strong repository of data to
guide nonprofits, public agencies and practitioners in their
efforts to improve the quality of health care in our state.
“Additionally, since the survey’s design will echo a number of
well-respected national studies, such as the Consumer Assessment of
Healthcare Providers and Systems from the U.S. Department of Health
& Human Services, we will be able to see if the quality of care
in Connecticut is better, worse or the same as the rest of the
nation,” said Barclay.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for
Health Policy and Research has been tapped to conduct the $379,000
study. Researchers will carry out a randomized telephone survey of
4,000 Connecticut adults over a 12-week period in the spring of
2012. The sampling will reflect Connecticut’s population
demographics and cover the state’s eight counties. Interviews will
be conducted in English and Spanish.
Much of the survey will focus on patients’ experiences with
primary care and explore whether patients have a regular doctor,
how easily they can make appointments and how well their care is
coordinated with specialists or other providers. Other questions
will examine the patient-doctor relationship and how well patients’
questions are answered and whether patients’ needs and preferences
are respected.
The survey also will explore whether patients receive timely
preventative care services, such as PAP smears and blood pressure
screenings, and patients’ perceptions of the care they receive.
Additionally, a series of demographic questions will help identify
racial and ethnic disparities in care and health outcomes and the
impact of education, income and insurance coverage on the quality
of care the patients receive.
Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health
Foundation, emphasized the timeliness of gathering reliable state
and local data over the coming months.
“With most of the provisions legislated by the Affordable Care
Act scheduled to be enacted in 2014, we need to benchmark the
current state of health care in Connecticut and have available
critical data that can help us pinpoint health gaps and find
solutions,” said Baker. “Results from the survey also will be used
to develop policy briefs that will be disseminated to policy makers
and other decision makers in the state.”
Lynne Garner, president of the Donaghue Foundation, said, “The
survey information also will be used to create a database that
community groups and researchers can use to further explore issues
of community, health care and health.”
Nancy Heaton, executive director of the Foundation for Community
Health, said, “Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the
nation, with fine hospitals and medical schools and one of the
highest percentages of insured residents. Yet we do not have a
clear understanding about the quality of health care in our state.
Our study holds the promise of providing vital health care data to
drive improvements where they are needed most.”
Juan A. Figueroa, president of the Universal Health Care
Foundation of Connecticut, said, “This collaboration will provide
elected leaders and decision makers in our state with the hard data
they need to move the needle of improving health care in the right
direction. It shows what we can accomplish when we work together
toward a common goal. We are proud to partner with other major
state health foundations to support this important work in health
reform.”
About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna Foundation, Inc. is the independent charitable and
philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna
Foundation have contributed $394 million in grants and
sponsorships, including $15.6 million in 2010. As a
national health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and
access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work
is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna
employees, who have volunteered more than 2.3 million
hours since 2003. Our current giving is focused
on addressing the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity
in the U.S.; promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and
health care; and advancing integrated health care.
About the Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation is the state’s largest
independent, philanthropic organization dedicated to improving
lives by changing health systems. Since it was established in July
1999, the foundation has supported innovative grant-making, public
health policy research, technical assistance and convening to
achieve its mission – to improve the health of the people of
Connecticut.
Since 1999, CT Health has awarded grants totaling $44.7 million
throughout the state in the following priority areas:
- Improving access to children’s mental
health services
- Reducing racial and ethnic health
disparities
- Expanding access to and use of
children’s oral health services
- Supporting advocacy and public policy
research to create enduring state-wide change
About the Donaghue Foundation
The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research
Foundation provides grants for medical research of practical
benefit. It focuses on initiatives to strengthen research on health
issues, to promote research leadership, and to put new knowledge to
work for public benefit. The Donaghue Foundation was established in
1991 by the will of Ethel Donaghue in memory of her parents.
About the Foundation for Community Health
The Foundation for Community Health is a private, not-for-profit
organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of
the residents of the greater Harlem Valley in New York and the
northwest corner of Connecticut. While increasing access to quality
health-related services in this very rural area is its top
priority, the foundation has focused on the locally identified
“critical needs” to improve access to mental health and oral health
services, especially for those most vulnerable. Since 2003 the
Foundation has distributed over $4 million dollars. In addition to
grant making, the foundation brings people together to solve
problems, conducts research, provides technical assistance,
supports collaborations, and advocates for policy change.
About the Universal Health Care Foundation of
Connecticut
The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut is an
independent, not-for-profit activist philanthropy whose mission is
to serve as a catalyst that engages residents and communities in
shaping a health system that provides universal access to quality
health care and promotes health in Connecticut. UHCF believes that
health care is a fundamental right and sees its work as part of a
broader movement for social and economic justice. It supports
public policy advocacy and community organizing, research and
communications. The Foundation, with its broad-based coalition
partners in the statewide grassroots healthcare4every1 effort –
including members from the business, health care provider, labor,
clergy, consumer advocacy and philanthropic communities – played a
significant role in the successful passage of landmark planning
laws for state health reform in 2009 and 2011.
About the University of Massachusetts Medical School
The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the
fastest-growing academic health sciences centers in the country,
has built a reputation as a world-class research institution,
consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic
research. The Medical School attracts more than $255 million in
research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal
funding sources. The mission of the Medical School is to advance
the health and well-being of the people of Massachusetts and the
world, through pioneering education, research, public service and
health care delivery. The Center for Health Policy and Research,
part of the Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine health care
consulting division, builds on the methodological expertise
available from the school’s academic departments and applied
research centers and provides expertise in all phases of survey
research, including survey planning, survey design, sample
selection, data collection, data processing, data analysis and
reporting.
Additional Media Contacts:
The Connecticut Health Foundation The Donaghue Foundation
Maryland Grier Stacy Cloud
maryland@cthealth.org
cloud@donaghue.org
860-724-1580, ext. 21 860-521-9011 860-888-6616, cell
The Foundation for Community Health The Universal Health Care
Foundation Nancy L. Heaton Alice Straight
nancy@fchealth.org
astraight@universalhealthct.org
860-364-5157 203-639-0550, ext. 309 203-443-3415, cell The
University of Massachusetts Medical School Mark Shelton
mark.shelton@umassmed.edu
508-856-2000
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