Location

Department of Health
Bureau of Epidemiology and Health Risk Assessment
825 North Capitol Street, NE
3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: (202) 442-5857

Mission

The mission of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Program (BRFSS) is to enable the Department of Health to monitor the prevalence of health problems and define the health status of the residents of the District of Columbia.

Program Description

The BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout the United States. It is a statistically sound survey that accurately portrays the health status of District of Columbia residents and is to be used by policy makers to plan and develop programs to address the health needs of District residents. It is administered to District of Columbia residents using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. The BRFSS asks questions about health related behaviors such as hypertension, physical inactivity, cholesterol levels, etc. Monthly residential telephone interviews are conducted on a regular basis. The interviewers complete an average of 200 telephone interviews each month for a minimum annual sample of 2,400. Approximately eighty (80) percent of the interviews are conducted on weeknights and weekends with twenty (20) percent conducted on weekdays.

Using Surveillance in Disease Prevention

Many causes contribute to the development of chronic diseases. About half of all deaths annually are attributed to modifiable behavioral risk factors. These risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and risky sexual behavior.

In the 1980s, CDC worked with states to develop the BRFSS, which is a unique, state-based surveillance system. The BRFSS gathers information from adults on behaviors related to chronic diseases, injury, and HIV infection.

Health Topics Covered by the BRFSS

• Hypertension
• Cholesterol
• HIV/AIDS
• Obesity
• Tobacco use
• Physical activity
• Women's health
• Diabetes
• Health coverage
• And more...