Health Indicator Report of Personal Doctor or Health Care Provider
As each new health care need arises, an individual's first point of contact with the health care system is typically his or her personal doctor. In most cases a personal doctor can effectively and efficiently manage a patient's medical care because they understand that person's medical history and social background. Having a regular source of health care is also an indicator of overall access to care.
Data Source
Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health, [http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/njbrfs/]Data Interpretation Issues
Starting in 2011, BRFSS protocol requires that the NJBRFS incorporate a fixed quota of interviews from cell phone respondents along with a new weighting methodology called iterative proportional fitting or "raking". The new weighting methodology incorporates additional demographic information (such as education, race, and marital status) in the weighting process. These methodological changes were implemented to account for the underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in the land line sample (which resulted in part from the increasing number of U.S. households without land line phones). Comparisons between 2011 and prior years should therefore be made with caution. (More details about these changes can be found at [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6122a3.htm].) Data from the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey are intended to represent non-institutionalized adults in households with telephones. Data are collected using a random sample of all possible telephone numbers. Prior to analysis, data are weighted to represent the population distribution of adults by age, sex, and "race"/ethnicity. As with all surveys, however, some residual bias may result from non-response (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions) and measurement error (e.g., social desirability or recall). Attempts are made to minimize such error by use of a strict calling protocol (up to 15 calls are made to reach each household), good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision.Definition
Percentage of adults who reported having one or more persons they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider.Numerator
Number of adults who reported having at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider.Denominator
Total number of adults interviewed during the same survey period.Healthy People Objective: Increase the proportion of people with a usual primary care provider
U.S. Target: 83.9 percentState Target: 90 percent
Other Objectives
'''Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective AHS-2''': Increase the proportion of adults aged 18 and older with a personal doctor or health care provider to 90.0 percent.How Are We Doing?
In 2020, 81.1% (crude rate) of New Jerseyans reported having at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or healthcare provider. Lack of a primary care provider was more common among young adults, especially males aged 18 to 34 (only 64% reported having a personal doctor in 2020).
Page Content Updated On 10/11/2022,
Published on 10/27/2022
