Department of Health
John J. Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, Commissioner

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Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Fact Sheets, Tennessee

Established in 1984 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. The data collected helps to identify high risk populations that can be targeted by intervention programs.In addition, the data can also be used to track changes in the prevalence of risk factors and diseases over time and to assess the impact of health promotion and disease prevention programs.

The BRFSS is a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted by state health departments with technical and methodological assistance provided by the CDC. Every year, states conduct monthly telephone surveillance using a standardized questionnaire to determine the distribution of risk behaviors and health practices among non-institutionalized adults. Adults 18 years or older are asked to take part in the survey. Only one adult is interviewed per household, and participants are not compensated.In 2005, approximately 4,700 Tennesseans participated in the survey. BRFSS data are directly weighted for the probability of selection of a telephone number, the number of adults in a household, and the number of telephones in a household. A final post-stratification adjustment is made for non-response and non-coverage of households without telephones. The weights for each relevant factor are multiplied together to get a final weight.

The data presented in these fact sheets includes comparisons across gender, race, age, education, income and other variables. The confidence intervals provided in the fact sheets should be considered when comparing the prevalence of variables across groups -- if confidence intervals overlap, differences may not be statistically significant. It should also be noted that the terms “white “ and “black” used in the fact sheets refer to individuals of non-Hispanic origin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,” http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/ (accessed 13 April, 2007)

                                                        Fact Sheets:

Alcohol Consumption	Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
Arthritis	Health Care Access
Asthma	High Blood Pressure
Breast Cancer Screening	High Cholesterol
Cervical Cancer Screening	Overweight and Obesity
Cigarette Smoking	Physical Activity
Coronary Heart Disease	Sexual Violence
Diabetes	Stroke
Diabetes Management	Symptoms of Heart Attack and Stroke
Flu and Pneumonia Vaccination	Vision Impairment