Sunday, June 1, 2025
6/1/2025
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) - The Vermont BRFSS (VT BRFSS) is an important surveillance tool and the data it provides is widely used, not just by the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) but other state agencies and partners. The VT BRFSS is consistently used to inform the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), which is our five-year plan for improving the health of Vermonters. The 2019-2023 SHIP’s five priority areas utilized 23 BRFSS measures that focused on health equity by outlining disparities seen by sex, age, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, and socioeconomic status. These data continue to play an integral part in examining public health needs and progress toward goals as part of Vermont’s new SHIP coming in 2024. VDH’s continued participation in the BRFSS, through expanded state-specific questionnaire development, data collection, analysis and data dissemination, is an essential component of continued health monitoring and improvement for all Vermont adults. The VT BRFSS work completed as part of this grant opportunity will build upon previous random digit dialing data collection and analysis funding cycles to increase access to public health prevention data resources. Data collected across all years of the project period will be used in collaboration with numerous other CDC funded projects in Vermont and will continue to contribute to data-driven decision making and evaluation at the state and community level. The VDH will use this grant to fund BRFSS data collection, quality assurance, data analysis and dissemination. Vermont BRFSS data provide the State and our partners with reliable and timely data to inform public health actions and ultimately improve the health of Vermonters. Data collected from this grant will be used to direct programmatic activities, inform legislators and decision makers on health risks facing Vermonters, and evaluate progress on individual program goals such as reducing the prevalence of various chronic conditions. This grant award will help to ensure continued and ongoing collection of Vermont’s BRFSS data, with datasets prepared for release and use by VDH analysts annually. Additionally, the VT BRFSS will continue to work with VDH programs and other partners to increase their use of data in program planning and decision-making efforts. The activities used to achieve these objectives broadly fall into the areas of planning, data collection, surveillance, data dissemination, collaboration and outreach. The Vermont BRFSS program will also continue to improve its engagement in surveillance through the release of data through reports such as the Annual Data Summary, Population in Focus reports, data briefs, goal trackers, health district office profile summaries and other reports. Analysts at VDH will continue to work with individual programs to ensure they include BRFSS data in their program planning, evaluation and reporting efforts. The VT BRFSS program will continue to dedicate time toward collaboration and data sharing with programs and partners, with the goal of promoting health equity within underrepresented communities. VDH foresees no barriers in continued successful implementation of the VT BRFSS program.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).