Definition
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported fair or poor general health.Numerator
Number of survey respondents who reported fair or poor general health.Denominator
Total number of survey respondents except those with missing, "Don't know/Not sure," and "Refused" responses.Data Interpretation Issues
Question Text: "Would you say that in general your health is excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?"
Beginning in 2011, BRFSS data include both landline and cell phone respondent data along with a new weighting methodology called iterative proportional fitting, or raking. This methodology utilizes additional demographic information (such as education, race, and marital status) in the weighting procedure. Both of these methodology changes were implemented to account for an increased number of U.S. households without landline phones and an under-representation of certain demographic groups that were not well-represented in the sample. More details about these changes can be found at: [https://ibis.utah.gov/ibisph-view/pdf/opha/resource/brfss/RakingImpact2011.pdf].
As with all surveys, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), and measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). Error was minimized by use of strict calling protocols, good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision.Why Is This Important?
Self-rated health (SRH) has been collected for many years on National Center for Health Statistics surveys and since 1993 on the state-based BRFSS. SRH is an independent predictor of important health outcomes including mortality, morbidity, and functional status. It is considered to be a reliable indicator of a person's perceived health and is a good global assessment of a person's well being.Other Objectives
Fair/poor health is one of the population outcome indicators tracked by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to measure success in ensuring its objective that "All Utahns have fair and equitable opportunities to be healthy and safe." [https://dhhs.utah.gov/dhhs-performance-measures-hub/dhhs-scorecard/]How Are We Doing?
In 2023, approximately 14.5% (age-adjusted rate) of Utah adults aged 18 and older reported fair or poor general health status. In the same time period, 85.5% of Utah adults reported good, very good, or excellent general health status.How Do We Compare With the U.S.?
Between the years 1993-2023, the proportion of adults who reported good or better health was significantly higher in Utah than for the U.S. as a whole (age-adjusted rates). These age-adjusted rates in 2023 were 85.5% in Utah compared to 81.4% in the U.S.What Is Being Done?
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, through many programs, works to prevent avoidable illness, injury, disability, and premature death; assure access to affordable, quality healthcare; and to promote healthy lifestyles.
