California Data
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BRFSS
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. The BRFSS is a state-based system of health surveys that generate information about health risk behaviors, clinical preventive practices, and health care access and use primarily related to chronic diseases and injury.
Conducted by the 50 state health departments as well as those in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands with support from the CDC, BRFSS provides state-specific information about issues such as asthma, diabetes, health care access, alcohol use, hypertension, obesity, cancer screening, nutrition and physical activity, tobacco use, and more.
Federal, state, and local health officials and researchers use this information to track health risks, identify emerging problems, prevent disease, and improve treatment.
California has used the system to:
- Monitor the impact of tobacco control legislation based on Proposition 99.
- Assess the quality of life of adult Californians with arthritis in order to focus the California Arthritis Partnership Program resources appropriately.
- Assess the prevalence of diagnosed osteoporosis in California in order to target the California Osteoporosis Prevention and Education Program resources most effectively.
- Evaluate gun ownership and storage practices in California.
- Estimate potential lead exposure among adults and households with children in California.
- Estimate adult and child asthma prevalence in California to help study differences in asthma rates by various demographics.
- Evaluate the health care status and the health of uninsured California residents.
- Assess alcohol consumption and dependence.
- Assess the use of cancer screening tests.
- Identify Californians who are at risk for being overweight. Estimate sun avoidance and protection practices among California's adults and children.
- Assess the knowledge of certain sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in order to target the efforts of STD awareness programs.
- Monitor progress toward Healthy People 2010 goals for flu and pneumococcal immunization in California's seniors and high-risk individuals.
California
Public Health Institute
Survey Research Group
1825 Bell Street, Suite 102
Sacramento, CA 95825
http://surveyresearchgroup.org
Coordinator: Marta Induni, PhD
Phone: 916-779-2677
Fax: 916-779-0265
Email: minduni@ccr.ca.gov
Project Director: Joan Epstein, MS
Phone: 916-779-2663
Fax: 916-779-0265
Email: JEpstein@ccr.ca.gov