The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a continual, telephone-based, data collection program designed to measure state-specific data on behaviors and preventive health practices related to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious disease in adults 18 years old or older living in households. The provision of county identifiers for all but one state in the BRFSS has made it possible to estimate prevalences of these behaviors and practices for within-state areas.
Because the BRFSS is based on a complex sample survey design, this presentation will describe how the BRFSS assigns a final sampling weight to each respondent. It will then show one method to change this final sampling weight for estimating county prevalences by modifying the BRFSS’s state-specific post-stratification weights using intercensal county-specific population estimates. Finally, using health-related quality of life measures from the BRFSS as an example, this presentation will then report on how this change in sampling weights affects county-specific prevalence estimates and their standard errors.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this talk, the listener should be able to describe: 1. how final respondent sampling weights are determined for BRFSS analyses, and 2. how the BRFSS’s state-specific post-stratification weights, using intercensal county-specific population estimates, may be modified and used to obtain improved county risk factor prevalence estimates.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.