FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2007 San Mateo County Health Department Contact: Beverly Thames, (650) 573-3935 SAN MATEO COUNTY RESIDENTS ASKED OPINIONS ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE Community Health Assessment Survey Underway SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Residents of San Mateo County have a chance to participate in the 2007 assessment of health and quality of life gets under way in the county. Sponsored and funded by members of the Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County, the survey is a scientifically valid study, conducted every three years. One thousand county residents will be randomly selected and asked to spend twenty-five minutes answering questions over the phone about their health, attitudes, and quality of life. Due to the changing nature of technology, this year, for the first time, the surveyors will conduct 100 cell-phone-only households in the County. The surveyors began polling residents in April 2007 and will wrap-up the survey in August 2007. "We ask residents to answer these questions as thoroughly and thoughtfully as possible," Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County Health Officer said. "The information is incredibly valuable. We use it to plan health programs and services. We can't serve our community well if we don't ask what they need, want and how they feel. This is how we ask." Despite a steady climb in health and quality of life over the past 50 years, the 2004 survey turned up a couple of significant downturns in both quality of life and health factors since the prior survey in 2001. "There was an increasing incidence of obesity and other negative health factors," Morrow said. "Fewer than 10 percent of the adults surveyed said they were observing the four basics of a healthy lifestyle: Not smoking, maintaining a sensible weight, exercising and eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. We need to update the data and see if these things are turning around." The 2004 results are available on Peninsula Library System's Community Information Project's online presentation at www.plsinfo.org/healthysmc/201. Members of the Health Community Collaborative of San Mateo County include Hospital Consortium of San Mateo County, San Mateo County Health Department, Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in Redwood City and South San Francisco, Mills-Peninsula Health Services, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Peninsula Library System, San Mateo County Human Services Agency, Sequoia Hospital, Seton Medical Center, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and San Mateo Medical Center. Residents seeking more information regarding this research study can contact Francine Serafin-Dickson at (650) 573-3957 or fsdickson@hospitalconsort.org. ###