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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Tami L. Gouveia-Vigeant, MSW, MPH, Northeast Center for Healthy Communities, 101 Amesbury Street, Suite 405, Lawrence, MA 01840, 978-688-2323 x517, tgouveia-vigeant@glfhc.org

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a behavioral health survey of adults conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and the State Departments of Public Health. Residents, government, youth, schools, and local organizations can benefit from locally collected, relevant survey data, including the BRFSS. Such data can be used to identify needs, plan and implement prevention and intervention programs, and evaluate current efforts to promote healthy behaviors among community residents. A community health network in Lawrence, Massachusetts used the BRFSS questionnaire to randomly survey 745 Lawrence residents in 2002 and 2004 in English and Spanish. This presentation will focus on: a) the methods to conducting an oversampling of the BRFSS at the local level; b) key findings and results; c) effective mechanisms—including news reports, radio programs, and fact sheets—for releasing data to members of the general public; d) how the data has been used and applied by members of the community; and e) lessons learned from conducting the survey at the local level.

At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the benefits of conducting a BRFSS oversample at the local level; 2. Identify and apply effective data reporting methods to their own data reporting projects; 3. Identify strategies for successfully implementing the BRFSS survey at the local level; and 4. Identify ways that locally collected data can be used by different members of the community.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to

• Describe the benefits of conducting a BRFSS oversample at the local level.
• Identify and apply effective data reporting methods to their own data reporting projects.
• Identify strategies for successfully implementing the BRFSS survey at the local level.
• Identify ways that locally collected data can be used by different members of the community.

Keywords: Community Health Planning, Data Collection

Related Web page: www.nc4hc.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered