Listening to the Voices of Californians - California Health Care Foundation

Listening to the Voices of Californians
CHCF believes that our health care system — especially public programs like Medi-Cal — should reflect the needs, insights, and priorities of the people they serve. We engage in “listening work” to help policymakers and health care partners understand the experiences and attitudes of health care consumers, as well as the doctors, nurses, and other health professionals who provide frontline care.

Listening to Californians with Low Incomes

Jen Joynt, Rebecca Catterson, MPH, Lucy Rabinowitz, MPH

Listening to Californians with Low Incomes: Health Care Access, Experiences, and Concerns Since the COVID-19 Pandemic is a compilation of early findings from a statewide survey of the health care experiences of California’s residents. The survey included an oversampling of residents with low incomes.

COVID-19 California Tracking Polls

Telehealth, Workforce, Health Care Costs

CHCF is conducting tracking polls during the coronavirus pandemic to assess both Californians' use of the health care system and physicians' assessment of availability of ICU beds, ventilators, and personal protective equipment. See all the survey results here.

Listening to Mothers in California

Maternal Health

More than 2,500 women share their attitudes and experiences of childbirth. The results reveal what is and isn't working with maternity care in the Golden State.

Hmong Community Planted Spiritual Roots in Merced Hospital

February 27, 2020

Xenia Shih Bion

At Mercy Medical Center, the nation's only hospital-based Hmong shaman certification program bridges Eastern and Western medicine to meet immigrants’ health needs.

Mental Health Tops Californians’ Health Care Priorities in Statewide Poll

Eran Ben-Porath, Emily Hachey, Jazmyne Sutton, Jennifer Su

Behavioral Health, Health Care Costs, Coverage Trends, Medi-Cal, Workforce, Homelessness & Health Care

The survey offers detailed insight into Californians’ views on a range of critical health issues, including health care affordability and access, perceptions on homelessness, the health care workforce, Medi-Cal, and the experiences of the uninsured.

Help Wanted: Californians’ Views and Experiences of Serious Illness and End-of-Life Care

PerryUndem Research/Communication, Jen Joynt

Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care

In 2019, CHCF commissioned a statewide survey to better understand the type of medical care and services Californians would prefer to receive if they had a serious illness or if they were approaching the end of life, and to explore the experiences of those actually dealing with these issues themselves or with loved ones. This report shares selected findings from the survey, including key differences by race/ethnicity and income level.

‘Trust Our Patients So They Can Trust Us’

September 18, 2019

Xenia Shih Bion

At an Oakland clinic, patients who once lived on the streets are helping to improve care for the unsheltered.

‘Treat Me Like a Person’: What We’ve Heard So Far from Californians with Low Incomes

August 16, 2019

Medi-Cal, Workforce

A new research project is exploring how Californians in the safety net experience their health care and what they hope to get out of their encounters.

Poll Shows Californians’ Health Priorities for New Governor and Legislature

Behavioral Health, Workforce, Medi-Cal

Access to mental health care is a top concern statewide.

What Matters Most to Californians

January 24, 2019

Kristof Stremikis

Medi-Cal, Behavioral Health, Workforce

A statewide poll reveals that Californians are deeply aware of the state's lack of mental health providers — and they're worried about how to pay for care.

Poll Reveals Californians’ Views on ACA, Medi-Cal, and Insurance for Behavioral Health Treatment

Expanding Health Coverage, Coverage Trends, Medi-Cal

A California-wide Berkeley IGS poll shows that support for the ACA is at an all-time high, and there is strong bipartisan agreement on the importance of Medi-Cal to the state.

Final Chapter: Californians’ Attitudes and Experiences with Death and Dying

Lake Research Partners, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California

Serious Illness & End-of-Life Care

Most Californians would prefer to die a natural death at home without becoming a burden on family. Yet according to this survey, a disconnect exists between what they want and reality.