The Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System is the world's largest
random telephone survey of non-institutionalized population aged
18 or older that is used to track health risks in the United States. In
1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in
collaboration with selected states, initiated a telephone based
behavioral risk factor surveillance system to monitor health risk
behaviors. As of 1993, participation in the BRFSS has expanded
to include all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto
Rico, and the Virgin Islands. South Carolina began administering
BRFSS since 1984. The basic philosophy is to collect data on actual
behaviors, rather than on attitudes or knowledge, that would be
especially useful for planning, initiating, supporting, and evaluating
health promotion and disease prevention programs.
South Carolina has used the BRFSS system to:
- Document
the need for and monitor the progress of prevention programs, including those
targeting tobacco use, breast and cervical cancer, injury prevention, cardiovascular
disease, and populations with disparate disease (rural, minority).
- Identify the prevalence
of a sedentary lifestyle as a significant risk factor in the state and develop
programs within counties to encourage fitness activities through environmental
and policy changes at the community level.
- Strengthen and
promote communication and collaboration among other agencies and organizations
to support community efforts to improve health.
- Assess the quality
of life of South Carolina residents and determine the distribution of these indicators
across subgroups in the population.
- Provide data
for the development of educational and environmental policy change efforts.
If you need BRFSS data that is not
available on this site, please fill out the Data Request Form and email or fax to Jennifer Baker, BRFSS Coordinator. |
