Arizona Health Survey

Arizona Health Survey is the state’s largest and most comprehensive survey of residents designed to collect data on individual indicators of health status, insurance coverage, access to care, health-related behaviors and various demographic and social/environmental factors related to health. Highlights from FY2012 include:

• Connect for What: Social Capital and Health starts with a question: “if social connectedness can have a positive impact on health, are there social intervention strategies that might be more advantageous than other to explore?” The report uses AHS 2010 data as a springboard to a larger discussion of community and offers ten strategies for the future.
• Health Insurance Status and Medical Debt in Arizona updates medical debt-related analysis previously conducted using 2008 Arizona Health Survey data, and reaches some unsettling conclusions about the surprising lack of protection that insurance provides against unexpected healthcare-related financial loss.
• Healthy Eating and Active Living of Adults and Young Children in Arizona both confirms and affirms key correlations between food consumption, living habits, physical activities and overall health.
• Food, Housing Insecurity, and Health, reports from the intersection of income and health, delving into eating habits, housing issues and their impact on overall health.

Data has its place, as does health. Conclusions gleaned from correlations can be tricky, but not nearly as dangerous as a complete lack of quantifiable information. Arizona Health Survey stands as a significant milestone among SLHI’s investments in a more robust health data infrastructure for Arizona. With like-minded partners, we continue to explore how best to keep Arizona informed of its own health impacts – and how to affirm health’s relevance in policy discussions and decisions.