Forces of Change Survey, United States, 2017, Restricted-Use Level 2 Data (ICPSR 37141)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The National Association of County and City Health Officials' (NACCHO's) Forces of Change Survey was developed as an evolution to NACCHO's Job Losses and Program Cuts surveys, which measured the impact of the economic recession on local health departments' (LHD) budgets, staff, and programs. The Forces of Change Survey continues to measure changes in LHD budgets, staff, and programs and assesses more broadly the impact of forces affecting change in LHDs (such as health reform). Beginning in 2014, NACCHO began conducting the Forces of Change survey yearly in years that the National Profile Study of Local Health Departments was not fielded.

Study Design View help for Study Design

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) administered the questionnaire using Qualtrics, an online survey administration tool. On February 14, 2017, the designated primary contact of every local health department (LHD) in the sample received an invitation via email from NACCHO's president to participate in the survey. After the initial invitation, the potential participants received up to five reminder e-mails. Additionally, NACCHO made reminder calls to people who had yet to complete the survey, targeting states with low response rates. Some state associations of county and city health officials (SACCHOs) assisted by encouraging their members to take part in the survey.

NACCHO generated national statistics using estimation weights to account for sampling and non-response. All data were self-reported; NACCHO did not independently verify the data provided by LHDs. A detailed description of survey methodology is available on NACCHO's Forces of Change webpage.

Sample View help for Sample

NACCHO used a stratified random sampling design for the 2017 Forces of Change Survey. A representative sample was used instead of a complete census design to minimize survey burden on local health departments (LHD) while enabling the calculation of both national-and state-level estimates.

LHDs were stratified by two variables: size of the population served and state. For stratification by size of population served, three categories were used: small (less than 50,000 people served), medium (50,000-499,999 people served), and large (more than 500,000 people served). Because LHDs with large population sizes represent a relatively small portion of all LHDs, these LHDs were oversampled to ensure a sufficient number of responses for the analysis. Two states (Hawaii and Rhode Island) were excluded from the study because they had no LHDs. Additionally some states did not have any LHDs in a particular size category, resulting in a total of 122 strata. The sampling plan was designed to select a minimum of 33 percent of the LHDs in a given stratum and at least two LHDs per stratum whenever possible.

Once the sampling plan was finalized, The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) drew a random sample of the specified size from within each stratum. In some centralized states, two or more LHDs had the same primary contact person listed. To minimize response burden, no more than two LHDs with the same contact person were kept in the sample. However, contacts in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Vermont received three surveys each because additional contacts in their state were not available. When LHDs with a common contact person were dropped from sample or when contact information was not available, a replacement was drawn. Overall, a sample of 948 LHDs was selected, of which 615 responded.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Universe View help for Universe

Local health departments (LHD) in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Hawaii and Rhode Island were excluded from the survey because they had no LHDs.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

The Forces of Change Survey instrument included some questions used in previous surveys conducted by The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) (including the 2015 Forces of Change survey, Job Losses and Program Cuts surveys, and the National Profile of Local Health Departments). Variables are related to questionnaire topics, including budget cuts and job losses, role in Zika prevention and response, and local health departments' collaboration with healthcare.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

65%

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2018-11-07

Version History View help for Version History

Weight View help for Weight

A weight variable (SWEIGHT_C0FOCSTRATUM) has been included and must be used in any analysis.