Innovative practices in local population-based health surveys throughout the United States

To meet the growing demand for local and statewide health data, states are increasingly conducting health surveys of their populations. While all US states and territories implement the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), many states have found the need to expand their BRFSS surveys to include local strata. Eleven states have established separate health surveys that produce state and local estimates using questions not covered by BRFSS, and/or measuring children and adolescents — populations not included in the BRFSS sample. While population-based health surveys are the best vehicles for collecting health data on individuals and families, little is known about the extent and characteristics of these surveys throughout the nation. As a step toward filling this knowledge gap, several NIH Institutes and Offices co-funded a contract with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and partnered to conduct a study to inventory state health surveys that can help meet research needs for local data. The study describes the extent and core elements of population-based health surveys conducted in states. It identifies surveys that are recent and periodic, produce both state and local estimates, and include questions on a broad range of health topics, including: demographics; income; health insurance; health status; chronic illness; and risk factors or health behaviors. State health surveys vary widely with regard to questions, sample size, design, representativeness of estimates, and the extent and means of data dissemination. This variation reflects state's individual data needs, but limits comparability of data across states.