A new survey conducted by National Public Radio/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government looks at Americans’ knowledge and attitudes about Social Security and retirement. The survey finds the public considers Social Security a very important government program and keeping it financially stable a top priority. Americans are also concerned about the long-term future of Social Security and want to make some changes to the system now.

• News Release: HTML format

• News Release: Social Security Survey Shows Support for Some Private Accounts, Political Risk With Other Reforms
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Complete Survey Toplines for the Kaiser Health News Index: 2002

The Kaiser Health News Index is designed to provide key tracking information on public opinion about health care topics to journalists, policymakers and the general public.

January/February

March/April

May/June

July/August

September/October

November/December

Health News Index November/December, 2001

The Health News Index measures public attention to and knowledge about leading health stories covered in the news in October and November. The Health News Index is designed to help news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health stories Americans are following and what they understand about those issues.

• Summary of Findings
• Topline/Survey

This study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation documents the attitudes of doctors and the public about medical errors and their or their families’ experiences with medical errors in the course of receiving medical care. The surveys also compare physician and public perspectives on the extent of the problem and their views on the effectiveness of proposed solutions.

The study’s findings are featured in The New England Journal of Medicine December 12, 2002 edition.

• News Release: 4 in 10 of Public, More than One-Third of Physicians Say They Have Personally Experienced Medical Errors
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• The New England Journal of Medicine article

See No Evil: How Internet Filters Affect the Search for Online Health Information

With a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging mandatory filters in libraries, the Foundation conducted a comprehensive study that indicates Internet filters most frequently used by schools and libraries can effectively block pornography without significantly impeding access to online health information – but only if they aren’t set at their most restrictive levels. As filters are set at higher levels they block access to a substantial amount of health information, with only a minimal increase in blocked pornographic content.

• Appendices

See No Evil: How Internet Filters Affect the Search for Online Health Information

With a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging mandatory filters in libraries, the Foundation conducted a comprehensive study that indicates Internet filters most frequently used by schools and libraries can effectively block pornography without significantly impeding access to online health information – but only if they aren’t set at their most restrictive levels. As filters are set at higher levels they block access to a substantial amount of health information, with only a minimal increase in blocked pornographic content.

• Executive Summary

The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation examines how members of the Hispanic community identify themselves, their views of the United States, their experiences with discrimination both within the Latino community itself and from non-Latino groups, their language abilities and preferences, their economic and financial situations and their experiences within the health care system.

• Summary of Findings
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The Current State of Retiree Health Benefits: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2002 Retiree Health Survey

This report presents findings from a study of large private-sector employers conducted by researchers at Hewitt Associates and the Kaiser Family Foundation between July and September of 2002. The study is based on survey responses of 435 large private-sector firms (1,000+ employees) that currently offer retiree health benefits, and includes 36% of all Fortune 100 companies and 28% of all Fortune 500 companies. Information was collected on a variety of topics including costs, premiums, retiree contributions, benefit design, prescription drug benefits, recent changes and expected changes within next three years, and the implications of a Medicare drug benefit for employers.

• The Current State of Retiree Health Benefits: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2002 Retiree Health Survey

See more recent retiree health benefits surveys.

This report presents findings from a study of large private-sector employers conducted by researchers at Hewitt Associates and the Kaiser Family Foundation between July and September of 2002. The study is based on survey responses of 435 large private-sector firms (1,000+ employees) that currently offer retiree health benefits, and includes 36% of all Fortune 100 companies and 28% of all Fortune 500 companies. Information was collected on a variety of topics including costs, premiums, retiree contributions, benefit design, prescription drug benefits, recent changes and expected changes within next three years, and the implications of a Medicare drug benefit for employers.

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• Webcast

The third in a series of fact sheets on topics related to children, media and health pulls together the key facts on the amount of time young people spend online; their favorite online activities; how and where young people access the web; and how use varies by age, gender and ethnicity.

• Key Facts:
• Key Facts: Children and Video Games