Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System BRFSS

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Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS)
HPRI Grantee Meeting April 20, 2006
Michele Sussman Walsh, M.Ed., CHESNorthrop
Grumman ContractorBehavioral Surveillance
Branch,Division of Adult and Community
Health,National Center for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion,Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
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BRFSS History

• State-based system in collaboration with CDC
• Established in 1984 with 15 states
• Began with six individual-level risk factors
  associated with leading causes of premature
  mortality among adults
• Cigarette smoking Alcohol use Physical
  inactivity Diet Hypertension Safety belt use

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Current BRFSS

• Conducted by all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, U.S.
  Virgin Islands, and Guam
• Largest continuously conducted telephone health
  survey in the world
• Over 350,000 interviews in 2005, more than
  tripled in last decade
• Primary focus on adult behaviors linked with
  leading causes of morbidity and mortality

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Questionnaire Design

• Core
• Rotating Core
• Emerging Core
• Optional Modules
• State-Added Questions
• BRFSS Conference Proposals Voting

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Core Demographics

• Age
• Gender
• Race racial makeup
• Marital status
• Education level
• Employment status
• Income
• County of residence
• Zip code
• Number of children in household
• Height weight
• Pregnancy status

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Core

• Immunization
• HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Veterans status (special case)

• Health Status
• Health Care Access
• Healthy Days (Health-related quality of life)
• Emotional Support and Life Satisfaction
• Disability
• Tobacco Use
• Alcohol consumption
• Exercise

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Rotating Core

• Even Years
• Womens health
• Prostate screening
• Colorectal cancer screening
• Oral health
• Falls
• Seatbelt use
• Drinking driving

• Odd Years
• Fruits vegetables
• Hypertension awareness
• Cholesterol awareness
• Arthritis burden
• Physical activity

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Optional Modules

• Child immunization
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis Management
• Weight Control
• Indoor Air Quality
• Home Environment
• Smoking Cessation
• Secondhand Smoke Policy
• Reactions to Race
• Sexual Violence
• Intimate Partner Violence
• Anxiety and Depression
• General Preparedness

• Diabetes
• Visual impairment
• Healthy days symptoms
• Cardiovascular health
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Heart attack stroke
• Influenza
• Adult asthma history
• Random child selection
• Childhood asthma prevalence

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Standardized

• All states use core questionnaire
• Standardized methodology for collection and
  analysis
• Allows for state-to-state comparisons
• Now allows for local-to-local comparisons (SMART
  BRFSS)

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Process

• States receive monthly telephone sample from CDC
• Household sample design
• Random digit dialing
• Random selection of adult 18 years
• Conduct interviews, data entered into CATI system
• States edit data

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Process New Features

• Submit data on upload/download Internet site
• Instant data quality reports
• CDC can track data submission
• Data processed in 24 hours and back to the state
• States can track any changes

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Rapid Turnaround

• States receive quarterly data reports
• Receive preliminary yearly report within a week
  of final year data
• For 2005 data, 46 states had reports by February,
  all by March
• Data available to CDC April 14, 2006
• Data available to public on Web site by six
  months after end of data collection

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BRFSS Web Site

• Prevalence Data
• Trend Data
• SMART BRFSS
• BRFSS Maps
• Historical Question Database
• Data Files and Technical Info
• www.cdc.gov/brfss

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SMART BRFSS

• Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area Risk
  Trends from the BRFSS
• How? ?Increased sample size and county of
  residence
• Metropolitan/Micropolitan Statistical Areas
  (MMSAs)
• Counties
• Over 140 MMSAs for 2002, 2003, and 2004
• apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss-smart/index.asp

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BRFSS Maps

• Web-based interactive mapping application
• Uses geographic information system (GIS) mapping
  technology
• Graphically displays state and MMSA prevalence
  data
• apps.nccd.cdc.gov/gisbrfss/default.aspx

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Data Files Technical Info

• Data and documentation
• Data quality reports
• User Guide
• www.cdc.gov/brfss/technical_infodata/index.htm

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Other Resources

• Questionnaires
• www.cdc.gov/brfss/questionnaires/index.htm
• State coordinator contact info
• www2.cdc.gov/nccdphp/brfss2/coordinator.asp
• Publications and research
• www.cdc.gov/brfss/pubs/index.htm

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www.cdc.gov/brfss Micheles contact info Phone
770-488-5173 Email zzk7_at_cdc.gov