Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2000

Investigators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a collaborative project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and U.S. states and territories. The BRFSS, administered and supported by the Behavioral Surveillance Branch (BSB) of the CDC, is an on-going data collection program designed to measure behavioral risk factors in the adult population 18 years of age or over living in households. The BRFSS was initiated in 1984, with 15 states collecting surveillance data on risk behaviors through monthly telephone interviews. The number of states participating in the survey increased, so that by 2000, 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands were participating in the BRFSS. The objective of the BRFSS is to collect uniform, state-specific data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors that are linked to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious diseases in the adult population. Factors assessed by the BRFSS include tobacco use, general health status, health care coverage, HIV/AIDS, and physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption. Data are collected from a random sample of adults (one per household) through a telephone survey. This dataset contains observations from only those states that participated in the "Sexual Behavior" modules, which included questions on HIV/AIDS. PETRA 09 is comprised of cases from Florida, Montana, and Ohio.

Rikers Health Advocacy Program (RHAP)

Investigators: Stephen Magura, Janet Shapiro, & Sung-Yeon Kang

This program, originally developed for use with incarcerated male adolescent drug users between 16 and 18 years of age, consists of four one hour small group sessions focusing on health education issues, particularly HIV/AIDS. Adapting techniques of Problem Solving Therapy, the facilitator guides eight-person groups in discussing the following topics: general health, HIV and AIDS, drug abuse and its consequences, sexual behavior, health and AIDS-risk behaviors, and strategies for seeking health and social services. Active learning is emphasized, with opportunities for youths to define high-risk attitudes and behaviors, suggest alternative actions, and engage in role play and rehearsal activities. A field study of the curriculum compared the attitudes and behaviors of RHAP participants with those of a control group of teens, selected from a waiting list for the program. Both samples were predominantly African-American and Hispanic. Following the intervention, program participants were more likely to use condoms during intercourse, compared to the comparison group of teens. RHAP is supported by the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH)'s Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program as an EBI that is medically accurate, age appropriate, and has proven through rigorous evaluation to prevent teen pregnancy and/or associated sexual risk behaviors. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

AIDS Risk Reduction Education and Skills Training Program (ARREST)

Investigators: Michele D. Kipke

Principles of the health belief model and social learning theory form the conceptual framework for this program, together with strategies previously found to be effective in changing such adolescent health-risk behaviors as cigarette smoking and early pregnancy. Originally designed for teens between 12 and 16 years of age, the intervention includes three 90-minute, small group sessions, in which participants receive five forms of assistance: (1) information about the transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS; (2) instruction in purchasing and using condoms with spermicide; (3) guidance in self-assessment of risk behaviors; (4) training in decision-making, communication, and assertiveness skills; and (5) peer group support for HIV/AIDS prevention and risk reduction. In addition to lectures and modeling by instructors, teens complete role plays, skill-building exercises, and homework activities. A field study of the program was conducted with 87 African-American and Latino youths, who were recruited from three New York City community-based organizations providing alternative education and after-school programs for high-risk teens. Comparing four week follow-up measures of program participants with a control group of peers, participants showed significant gains in knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, as well as in sexual refusal and negotiation skills. However, no differences were found between the groups' risk-related sexual behaviors. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Demographic, Behavioral & Health Characteristics of Injection Drug Users in San Francisco 1985-86

Investigators: John K. Watters

The study, Demographic, Behavioral, and Health Characteristics of Injection Drug Users in San Francisco, 1985- 86, was conducted in late 1985 and early 1986 as part of a larger investigation of health characteristics and risk factors for HIV transmission in intravenous drug users. The purpose of the study was to obtain data on demographic characteristics, sexual and other risk behavior, and general health characteristics from a group of intravenous drug users (IVDUs) in San Francisco. The San Francisco research team first conducted a two-pronged approach among the city's IVDUs during late 1985 and early 1986. The first element consisted of intensive ethnographic study in the two San Francisco neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of IVDUs.The other direction of research, which proceeded simultaneously with the ethnographic study, consisted of lengthy interviews with 438 IVDUs.

Prospero Project Condom Study, San Francisco, 1989-1991

Investigators: Dan Waldorf and David Lauderback

The Prospero Project Condom Study, San Francisco, 1989-1991, which was conducted between December 1989 and April 1991, explored condom use in 552 male sex workers in San Francisco - men who are at high risk to contract and spread the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Investigators employed face-to-face interviews to gather detailed information about the conditions (e.g., type of partner, type of sexual activity) under which condoms were and were not used. In addition, the investigators sought to quantify the amount of condom failure (i.e., breakage and/or slippage) in this population. This dataset includes information on 736 variables across 552 cases. Respondents were identified through a combination of methods, including snowball sampling, and represented two types of sex workers, hustlers and call men, who are gay, bisexual, heterosexual, or transvestite/transsexual.

A Clinic-Based AIDS Education Program for Female Adolescents

Investigators: Vaughn Rickert, Anita Gottlieb, & Susan Jay

This is a single-session group intervention originally targeted toward sexually active girls between 13 and 21 years of age. The session includes a brief lecture on the transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS (based on CDC guidelines), followed by a video explaining the purpose and use of condoms. As the session ends, participants receive an educational booklet reinforcing the program's lessons and coupons that may be redeemed anonymously for an unmarked box of condoms at a local pharmacy. The redemption rate of the coupons provides a measure of the program's impact. A field study of the intervention was conducted with 75 White and African-American females, all of whom were sexually active. Among prior purchasers of condoms, girls who took part in the intervention were significantly more likely to redeem the coupons than were control groups of their peers. Overall, 60% of program participants obtained condoms, a rate 2 1/2 times greater than that recorded in comparable programs without a confidential redemption procedure. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Reproductive Health Counseling for Young Men

Investigators: Ross Danielson, Anne Plunkett, Shirley Marcy, William Wiest, & Merwin Greenlick

Originally developed for boys between 15 and 18 years of age, this is a one-hour, single-session, clinic-based intervention. The program is designed to meet the needs of sexually active and inactive teens, and to promote abstinence as well as contraception. The session begins with a video presentation that is viewed privately by each teen. The materials address reproductive anatomy, fertility, hernia, testicular self-examination, STDs (including HIV/AIDS), contraception (including abstinence), communication skills, and access to health services. A half-hour private consultation with a health care practitioner follows the presentation. Guided by the young men's interests, the consultation may include such topics as sexuality, fertility goals, and reproductive health risks, along with rehearsal and modeling of sexual communication. A field study of the intervention was conducted with 1,195 high school-aged males visiting health maintenance organizations in two Northwestern cities. Compared to a control group of their peers, sexually active program participants were significantly more likely to use effective contraception at the one-year follow-up assessment, especially if they were not yet sexually active at the time of the intervention. Sexually active female partners of program participants were also more likely to use effective contraception at the follow-up. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Poder Latino: A Community AIDS Prevention Program for Inner-City Latino Youth

Investigators: Hispanic Office of Planning & Evaluation and New England Research Institutes

This multifaceted community-based intervention targets Latino youth, ages 14 to 20, at elevated risk for HIV/AIDS. One goal of the program is to increase awareness of the disease by saturating target neighborhoods with public service announcements broadcasting risk reduction messages. In addition, the program aims to reduce infection by encouraging sexually active teens to use condoms. Project messages are reinforced through ongoing activities conducted by specially-trained peer leaders, including workshops in schools, community organizations, and health centers, group discussions in teens' homes, presentations at large community centers, and door-to-door canvassing. At all activities, condoms are available, along with pamphlets explaining their correct use. In a field study of the intervention in Boston, MA, researchers compared the sexual behavior of teens in the target community and a similar, control community. At the 18-month follow-up assessment, the intervention appeared to reduce the incidence of multiple sexual partners among females and delay the onset of sexual activity among males. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2015

Investigators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation's premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. By collecting behavioral health risk data at the state and local level, BRFSS has become a powerful tool for targeting and building health promotion activities. As a result, BRFSS users have increasingly demanded more data and asked for more questions on the survey. Currently, there is a wide sponsorship of the BRFSS survey, including most divisions in the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; other CDC centers; and federal agencies, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, Administration on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The BRFSS objective is to collect uniform, state-specific data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors that are linked to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious diseases that affect the adult population. Factors assessed by the BRFSS in 2015 include tobacco use, HIV/AIDS knowledge and prevention, exercise, immunization, health status, healthy days, health-related quality of life, health care access, hypertension awareness, arthritis burden, chronic health conditions, alcohol consumption, fruits and vegetables, and seatbelt use. Since 2011, the BRFSS conducts both landline telephone- and cellular telephone-based surveys. In conducting the BRFSS landline telephone survey, interviewers collect data from a randomly selected adult in a household. In conducting the cellular telephone version of the BRFSS questionnaire, interviewers collect data from an adult who participates by using a cellular telephone and resides in a private residence or college housing.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2013

Investigators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation's premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. By collecting behavioral health risk data at the state and local level, BRFSS has become a powerful tool for targeting and building health promotion activities. As a result, BRFSS users have increasingly demanded more data and asked for more questions on the survey. Currently, there is a wide sponsorship of the BRFSS survey, including most divisions in the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; other CDC centers; and federal agencies, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, Administration on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The BRFSS objective is to collect uniform, state-specific data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors that are linked to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious diseases that affect the adult population. Factors assessed by the BRFSS in 2013 include tobacco use, HIV/AIDS knowledge and prevention, exercise, immunization, health status, healthy days, health-related quality of life, health care access, hypertension awareness, arthritis burden, chronic health conditions, alcohol consumption, fruits and vegetables, and seatbelt use. Since 2011, the BRFSS conducts both landline telephone- and cellular telephone-based surveys. In conducting the BRFSS landline telephone survey, interviewers collect data from a randomly selected adult in a household. In conducting the cellular telephone version of the BRFSS questionnaire, interviewers collect data from an adult who participates by using a cellular telephone and resides in a private residence or college housing.