Version Date: Jul 10, 2023 View help for published
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37989.v1
Version V1
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year.
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For additional information on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System studies, please visit the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) website.
This collection is related to Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2003, ICPSR 34085, and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Asthma Call-Back Survey, 2009, ICPSR 34300. For similar study information and characteristics, please refer to all studies.
The BRFSS is a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted by state health departments with technical and methodologic assistance provided by CDC. States conduct monthly telephone surveillance using a standardized questionnaire to determine the distribution of risk behaviors and health practices among adults. Responses are forwarded to CDC, where the monthly data are aggregated for each state, returned with standard tabulations, and published at the year's end by each state. The BRFSS questionnaire was developed jointly by CDC's Behavioral Surveillance Branch (BSB) and the states.
In a telephone survey such as the BRFSS, a sample record is one telephone number in the list of all telephone numbers the system randomly selects for dialing. To meet the BRFSS standard for the participating states' sample designs, one must be able to justify sample records as a probability sample of all households with telephones in the state. All participating areas met this criterion in 2017. Fifty-one projects used a disproportionate stratified sample (DSS) design for their landline samples. Guam and Puerto Rico used a simple random-sample design.
Disproportionate stratified random sampling (DSS)
In the type of DSS design that states most commonly used in the BRFSS landline telephone sampling, the BRFSS divides telephone numbers into two groups, or strata, which are sampled separately. The high-density and medium-density strata contain telephone numbers that are expected to belong mostly to households. Whether a telephone number goes into the high-density or medium-density stratum is determined by the number of listed household numbers in its hundred block, or set of 100 telephone numbers with the same area code, prefix, and first 2 digits of the suffix and all possible combinations of the last 2 digits. BRFSS puts numbers from hundred blocks with 1 or more listed household numbers (1+ blocks, or banks) in either the high-density stratum (listed 1+ blocks) or medium-density stratum (unlisted 1 + blocks). The BRFSS samples the two strata to obtain a probability sample of all households with telephones.
Cellular Telephone Sampling Frame
Cellular telephone sampling frames are commercially available, and the system can call random samples of cellular telephone numbers, but doing so requires specific protocols. The basis of the 2017 BRFSS sampling frame is the Telecordia database of telephone exchanges (e.g., 617-492-0000 to 617-492-9999) and 1,000 banks (e.g., 617-492-0000 to 617-492-0999). The vendor uses dedicated cellular 1,000 banks, sorted on the basis of area code and exchange within a state. The BRFSS forms an interval-K-by dividing the population count of telephone numbers in the frame-N-by the desired sample size- n. The BRFSS divides the frame of telephone numbers into n intervals of size K telephone numbers. From each interval, the BRFSS draws one 10-digit telephone number at random.
Variables in these data include demographics, health care coverage and access to health care, health conditions, level and types of physical activity, activities of daily living, tobacco and e-cigarette use, diet, alcohol use, and immunizations. Other subjects include cognitive decline, social determinants of health, caregiving, marijuana use, family planning, sleep, firearm safety, and sexual orientation and gender identity.
Variables about health conditions include diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, stroke, arthritis, joint pain, HIV/AIDS, cancer, asthma, and mental health.
Median response rate for Landlines: 45.3 percent
Median response rate for Cellular Phones: 44.5 percent
Median overall response rate: 45.1 percent
Please see the Summary Data Quality Report for more information.
Hide2023-07-10
2023-07-10 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
Researchers conducting analysis of variables from the core-only section should use the variable LLCPWT for weighting.
Data users should note that newer weighting procedures are likely to affect trend lines when comparing BRFSS data collected before and after 2011; because of these changes, users are advised NOT to make direct comparisons with pre-2011 data, and instead, begin new trend lines with that year.
HideThese data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?
This study is provided by Resource Center for Minority Data (RCMD).
