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Investigator Access
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What's Available
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Research data: De-identified public-use data files of individual-level national survey data.
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Available Documentation
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Dates Data are Available
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1984 - 2017, published annually
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Access Criteria
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Data sets are available to the public on the BRFSS website
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Study Characteristics
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Objectives
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To collect data on health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services from the noninstitutionalized adult population ≥18 years residing in the United States.
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Era of Service
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All
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Population
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U.S. residents ≥18 years
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Study Design
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Cross-sectional telephone survey
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Time Period
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1984 - present
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Setting
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National - all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and 3 U.S. territories
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N
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See response rate
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Response Rate
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Year
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Total N
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Completed
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Partial
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Overall Rate
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Landline
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Cell Phone
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Veteran N
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2004
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303,822
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285,749
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18,073
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52.7%
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N/A
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N/A
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42,840
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2005
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356,112
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328,025
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28,087
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51.1%
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N/A
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N/A
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51,005
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2006
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325,710
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330,076
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25,634
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51.4%
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N/A
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N/A
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50,721
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2007
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430,912
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396,694
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34,218
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50.58%
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N/A
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N/A
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59,922
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2008
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414,509
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395,076
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19,433
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53.31%
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N/A
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N/A
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56,067
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2009
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432,607
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404,036
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28,571
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53.48%
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N/A
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N/A
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55,744
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2010
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451,075
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425,013
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26,062
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54.6%
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N/A
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N/A
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59,017
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2011
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506,467
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463,716
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42,751
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49.72%
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53.0%
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27.9%
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64,564
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2012
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475,687
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441,608
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34,079
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45.2%
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49.1%
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35.3%
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59,870
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2013
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491,773
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433,220
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58,553
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45.3%
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49.6%
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37.8%
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61,505
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2014
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464,664
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413,558 |
51,106
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45.8%
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48.7%
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40.5%
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62,120
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2015
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441,456
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375,059
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66,397
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47.1%
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48.2%
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47.2%
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57,842
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2016
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486,303
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421,192
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65,111
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46.7%
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47.7%
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46.4%
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63,919
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2017
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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45.3%
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44.5%
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N/A
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2018
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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53.3%
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43.4%
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N/A
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2019
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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50.0%
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53.4%
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47.1%
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N/A
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Recruitment Method
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- 2010 & before: By landline only
- 2011 - present: By landline and cell phone
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Compensation
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None
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Data Collected
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Core Competent (used by all states): questions asked each year, and rotating core questions which are included in even- and odd- numbered years, including:
- Demographics
- Current health-related perceptions, conditions, and behaviors (e.g., health status, health-related quality of life, health care access, exercise, inadequate sleep, chronic health, oral health, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, immunization, falls, seatbelt use, drinking and driving, breast and cervical cancer screening, prostate cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening, HIV/AIDS).
Optional BRFSS Modules: Sets of questions on specific topics selected by states to use on their questionnaires, including:
- Adult asthma history and childhood asthma prevalence
- Adult human papilloma virus (HPV)
- Arthritis management
- Cardiovascular health
- Colorectal, prostate, breast, and cervical cancer screening
- Diabetes and pre-diabetes
- Emotional support and life satisfaction
- Health care access
- Industry and occupation
- Influenza
- Reactions to race, social context
- Dietary behaviors (e.g., sodium or salt intake, consumption of sugar drinks)
State-added questions: Individual states develop or acquire these questions and add them to their BRFSS questionnaires. CDC neither edits nor evaluates these questions.
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Data Collection Methods
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Interviewers who had undergone BRFSS questionnaire and procedure training used Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) to interview participants.
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Funding Sources
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There is a wide sponsorship of the BRFSS survey, including:
- Most divisions in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Other CDC centers
- Federal agencies, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, Administration on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Investigators
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Unconfirmed
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Contact
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Contact information for State Coordinators is available on the BRFSS website.
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Selected Publications
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Pierannunzi C, Hu SH, Balluz L. A Systematic Review of Publications Assessing Reliability and Validity of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2004-2011. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2013;13:49.
Brown ER, Kincheloe J, Breen N, Olson JL, Portnoy B, Lee SJ. States’ Use of Local Population Health Data: Comparing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Independent State Health Surveys. J Public Health Manag Pract 2013 19(5):444-50.
Faestel, PM, Littell, CT, Vitiello, MV, Forsberg, CW, Littman AJ. Perceived Insufficient Rest or Sleep among Veterans: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2009. J Clin Sleep Med. 2013 Jun 15;9(6):577-84.
Britton PC, Ouimette PC, Bossarte RM. The Effect of Depression on the Association Between Military Service and Life Satisfaction. Quality of Life Research 2012 21(10):1857-62.
Additional publications using BRFSS data can be found on the BRFSS publications page and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
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More Information
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BRFSS website
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