Urban-metropolitan health requirements for California in 1975.

  • California. Department of Public Health.
Date:
1966
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Urban-metropolitan health requirements for California in 1975. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/132
    The present report, while of inherent value to the Department in its many func- tions, also serves as one segment of a large-scale project to guide statewide planning for California. The California State Development Plan Program was ini- tiated in1962, supported by a grant from the Federal Housing and Home Agency. The Program was designed to: reveal the present pattern of responsibility for development in California; describe the state's economic, social and environ- mental conditions by region; and forecast the population and economic bases for future years. This particular study focused on personal health services available in California during the mid-60's, factors which influence the organization, cost and use of these services, and projections to 1975, where they were feasible. It concen- trated on identifying those aspects of medical science and resources that must be taken into account if health planning is to have tangible value for people. It emplasizes the importance of the quality of personal health services. Where data were available by urban areas, analysis included this stratification. In health planning, for a state that is rapidly becoming so largely metropolitan, it is not easy to segregate urban-metropolitan health requirements from those of the total California population. The difficulties of making well-founded state- ments about the health of people living in the country are discussed in Chapter 2. Therefore, for the most part, this discussion concerns the health of all Cali- fornians. A number of special health hazards of rural life, which are largely socioeconomic rather than environmental, are mentioned. This document has proved valuable, even prior to publication, to Departmental staff. In the past year, as the Department has focused more and more of its energies on statewide and regional health planning, the data and policies ex- pressed within have been useful. While the facts and policies do not cover, with equal emphasis, every aspect of the Department's interests, they do represent a general appraisal of California's health situation, and where future efforts should lie.