Data Source
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual phone survey of randomly selected Washington adults. The Department of Health administers the survey in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The BRFSS is the longest continuously running health survey in the world, and Washington state has administered it since 1987.
Topics on the Survey
The BRFSS provides data about health care access, chronic health conditions, and behaviors that affect health (e.g., smoking cigarettes). The range of topics covered by the BRFSS survey allows us to study how a condition occurs in different populations (e.g., different counties, races, ethnicities, occupations, etc.). It also shows how different diseases and behaviors may occur together.
Information About the Data
The BRFSS data are collected through English and Spanish language interviews with Washington adults 18 years and older. DOH randomly selects phone numbers and calls both landlines and cell phones. The survey is designed to include people from every county across the entire state.
- Coverage: Washington residents 18 years or older with a landline or cellular telephone
- Statistics: Age-adjusted percentages
- Variables by year type: Annual, bi-annual, random years
- Variable by category: Demographic, Chronic Conditions, Behavioral Health, Healthcare Access and Prevention, Injury Related
- Geography: State, Accountable Communities of Health (ACH), Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJ)
- Age: Not available
- Gender: Male, Female
- Race/ethnicity: White, Black, Asian, Native American, Hispanic and Multi-racial
Limitations
- BRFSS is a population-based, cross-sectional telephone survey. Participation is optional, which may introduce selection bias.
- These data are self-reported. This can introduce recall and social desirability biases.
- The data doesn't include vulnerable populations such as people who are incarcerated or in nursing homes.
- The survey is only administered in English and Spanish, and individuals who speak other languages are not included in the data.
- Data from some racial groups are not available for every measure. This is due to small sample sizes that create unreliable estimates.
Information About the Selectable Layer
You can select individual races and geographic areas from bar charts or the map. This will show the trend for that race or location, compared to the trend of the statewide average.
Race and gender selections apply only to the state, not specific locations.