Community Health Evaluation Surveillance System
Mecklenburg County Health Department
BRFSS-Like Survey Transition
Problem
Mecklenburg County’s health department had been conducting annual surveys like the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for over a decade using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) and Random Digit Dialing (RDD). Due to declining response rates, the department transitioned to a mixed-mode approach that included both phone and online self-administered interviews. This shift led to more interviews within the existing budget, greater participant coverage, and improved overall response rates. The county also introduced a dedicated survey landing page with FAQs and launched a PR campaign to highlight the survey’s importance and legitimacy.
Goal
The primary objective was to conduct 15–20-minute interviews with at least 800 randomly selected adult residents of Mecklenburg County. The survey incorporated questions from the CDC’s BRFSS and additional questions to gather data on the prevalence of chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes), health behaviors, and prevention practices. The target included ensuring that 14% of the completed surveys were from the Hispanic population. Upon completion, the findings were to be analyzed and reported in the NC BRFSS format, with all data provided in an electronic format reflecting the NC BRFSS web report.
Execution
Participants were invited to take the survey either by phone or online through outbound calls and MMS text message recruitment. Before the survey’s implementation, test links for both modes were approved by the Health Department Project Manager. The survey remained open until the minimum number of completed interviews was achieved. Concurrently, a PR media campaign was launched to encourage participation, utilizing a sample image for promotion across various platforms, including the health department’s website, social media, and billboards. The same image was used in MMS texts containing unique online survey links for each participant.
Results
The transition to a multi-modal data collection approach yielded positive results, with a 25% increase in the number of interviews compared to the previous year when only one data collection mode was used. In 2024, there were 1,091 completed interviews, up from 986 in 2023 and 750 in 2022. Other significant outcomes included an increase in Hispanic representation and a reduction in the number of records per complete, attributed to improved contact rates and overall sampling response rates. The project effectively controlled costs while increasing the number of interviews conducted, thereby enhancing the quality and comprehensiveness of the data collected.