COUNTYWIDE : UCI Gets $233,184 for Health Survey

The Irvine Health Foundation has given UC Irvine a $233,184 grant to continue a survey on the health needs of Orange County residents.

The grant is the foundation’s third in as many years to pay for the Orange County Health Surveys, telephone polls of 2,000 homes that assess the physical and mental health of local residents.

The poll offers “snapshots” of health concerns, including AIDS, depression and arthritis.

Last July, when the results of the first survey were released, Orange County residents learned that they drink less, smoke less and are generally healthier than Americans around the country.

This year, when new results are released in August, the results will cover such issues as whether county residents became sick after their homes were sprayed with malathion in the effort to wipe out the Medfly.

The survey will also consider such issues as access to health care and whether Orange County women from all income groups are seeking regular mammograms and Pap smears, said Dr. Hoda Anton-Culver, one of the project’s four investigators.

Anton-Culver noted that another UC Irvine effort under her direction, the Cancer Surveillance Program, has shown a rise in breast cancer recently in Orange County. Data on cancer prevalence will be correlated with responses to the health survey, she said.

She said the telephone polls were “of great importance” in monitoring the health of Orange County residents.

“We couldn’t do it without those surveys,” she said, crediting the Irvine Health Foundation for its continuing support.

In addition to continuing questions on general county health problems, the 1990-91 poll will include a new survey exploring the relationship between arthritis and cigarette smoking. The Irvine Health Foundation has provided an additional $66,820 grant for that survey.