Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

The Vendor is required to provide for services for the administration of telephone survey data collection and related tasks for the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
- The BRFSS telephone survey data collection and related tasks can only be performed by a qualified organization that has the appropriate resources, equipment, and infrastructure as well as sufficient skilled staff with the technical qualifications and experience needed to fully execute the Centers BRFSS data collection protocol.
- States are required to conduct at least 2,500 interviews for each of the versions of the split questionnaire in order to have enough responses for weighting purposes. States may adopt up to three versions of the questionnaire, each including the core (with standard and rotating core questions) and a specified number of modules, which will differ by version.
- Landline calling hours:
• Conduct 40% of landline calling attempts on weekdays (before 5:00 PM)
• Conduct 40% of landline calling attempts on weeknights (after 5:00 PM) and weekends
• Conduct 20% of landline calling attempts on the weekend.
- Cellphone calling hours:
• Conduct cell phone calling attempts during all three calling occasions (weekday, weeknight, and weekend), with approximately 30% on weekend calling occasions.
• Change schedules to accommodate holidays and special events.
• Make weeknight calls after 5:00 PM.
• Adhere to respondents’ requests for specific callback/appointment times whenever possible. Weekends have been shown to be good times for callback scheduling.
- Data collectors must develop and maintain procedures to ensure respondents’ confidentiality, assure and document the quality of the interviewing process, and supervise and monitor the interviewers.
- With larger portions of state-level samples or the entire sample allocated to cell phone numbers, states may modify the calling schedule for efficiency.
- Data collectors should remember that cell phone numbers may reach respondents in any state or country, where laws on recording calls may be different than in the state where the call originated.
- States may also use callback verification procedures to ensure data quality.
- Unless supervisory monitoring of 10% of all interviews is being routinely conducted, a 5% random sample of each month’s interviews must be called back to verify selected responses for quality assurance.
- Recording calls as part of quality assurance is not part of the BRFSS methodology and recording interviews without respondent knowledge is not legal in all states.