February 2015

Quick Data Facts from PHMC's 2015 SEPA Household Health Survey: An Overview of Key Health Indictors for Philadelphia

Since 1983, the Household Health Survey has tracked key health indicators for Philadelphia and for the region as a whole.  PHMC’s Community Health Data Base (CHDB) conducted the latest SEPA Household Health Survey in the winter of 2014-2015. Over 10,000 interviews were conducted with adults 18 years of age and older by telephone:  80% of the interviews were conducted by landline and 20% were conducted by cell phone. The data presented in this article provide an overview of some of the major findings from the 2015 survey for adults by Planning Analysis Sections of Philadelphia.

Chronic Health Conditions

• Nearly one in four (38.3%) adults 18 years of age and older in Philadelphia have high blood pressure, representing 450,000 adults.  Olney Oak Lane and Upper North Philadelphia have the highest percentage of adults with high blood pressure (50.7% and 48%, respectively.)  
• 182,200 (15.5%) of adults in Philadelphia 18 years of age and older have Diabetes.

Obesity

• In Philadelphia, 33.4% of adults 18 years of age and older are overweight and 33.5% are considered obese. 
• The percentage of adults who are obese in Philadelphia is highest in Olney Oak Lane (42%), followed by Upper North (40.3%), Bridesberg-Kensington-Richmond (39.8%), and South West (36.9%) Philadelphia.   

Health Behaviors

• In Philadelphia, one in seven (14.6%) adults 18 years of age and older smoke cigarettes every day, representing 172,000 adults who smoke regularly.
• The percentage of adults who smoke everyday is highest in the Bridesburg-Kensington-Richmond (29%) area and lowest in Center City (1.9%) Philadelphia.

Mental health

• One in five adults (20.6%) 18 years of age and older in Philadelphia report a mental health condition; this percentage represents 242,100 adults in Philadelphia.
• The percentage of adults with a mental health condition is highest in Bridesburg-Kensington-Richmond (35.2%), followed by adults in Upper North Philadelphia (28.1%). 
• The percentage of adults with a mental health condition is lowest in Upper Northeast (13.2%) Philadelphia.

Screenings

• Nearly three in ten women (28.2%) in Philadelphia 18 years of age and older have not had a PAP smear test in the past two years; this percentage represents 179,000 women.
• Slightly more than one in five of women in Philadelphia 18 years of age and older have not had a breast exam in the past two years and one in five women 40 years of age and older have not had a mammogram  (21.9% and 21.4%, respectively.)
• 177,300 adults in Philadelphia 50 years of age and older (29.5%) have not had a colonoscopy in more than ten years or have never had a colonoscopy.

Insurance Status

• 12.5% of adults in Philadelphia ages 18-64 are uninsured; this percentage represents approximately 120,000 adults without private or public health insurance. 
• Within Philadelphia, the percentage of uninsured adults is highest in Upper North (18.7%), South West (18.4%) and West (18.3%) Philadelphia.
• The percentage of uninsured adults is lowest in Center City (4.2%) Philadelphia.