Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) - The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) aims to maintain and expand the Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to monitor the prevalence of key health indicators, identify and address health disparities, and support programs that promote the health of Wisconsin residents and address health disparities. Nationally, Wisconsin ranks 26th in adult smoking, 40th in adult obesity, 35th in fruit and vegetable consumption, 28th in frequent mental distress, and 47th in excessive drinking1.While Wisconsin experiences some of the highest rates of excessive drinking and obesity in the nation, it ranks 49th in public health funding per capita. BRFSS data makes it possible for Wisconsin public health programs to identify areas of need, allowing for more effective planning and allocation of Wisconsin’s limited public health resources. The Wisconsin BRFSS program will conduct telephone interviews of adults with Wisconsin landline and cellphone numbers to collect information on a variety of health-related topics. BRFSS program staff will work with the national CDC program to clean and weight the data to represent the adult population and provide estimates through reports, dashboards, query systems, and custom data requests. Public and private health partners at the federal, state, and local levels will use BRFSS data to identify public health problems, design policies and interventions, set goals, and measure progress related to the goals. The results of the BRFSS program in Wisconsin and the planned efforts identified in this proposal will be a key component to Wisconsin’s public health strategy for diverse communities and subpopulations throughout the state.
