Risk Factor Survey

Frequently Asked Questions about the Risk Factor Survey

1. What is the Risk Factor Survey?
2. What communities are included in the survey?
3. Who conducts the survey?
4. What is the survey design and description?
5. What is the time period for the survey?
6. Can I call a toll free number for more information?
7. What is the questionnaire used in the survey?

1. What is the Risk Factor Survey?

The REACH U.S. Risk Factor Survey gathers health-related information annually from selected communities across the United States where REACH U.S. community health interventions have been launched. The survey contains questions about health, chronic diseases, diet, exercise, preventive services, and adult immunizations. The results of the survey are used in many ways, including improving REACH U.S. programs.

2. What communities are included in the survey?

There are 28 communities across the United States that have been included in the first year of survey data collection. They include communities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Please see Table 1 below for a listing of the communities and their targeted geographic areas.

Table 1

REACH U.S. Community Name	Geography
Centers for Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities (CEEDs)
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Inc.	An Area in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Hidalgo Medical Services	Areas within Grant and Hidalgo County, New Mexico
Institute for Urban Family Health	Areas within Southwest portion of Bronx, New York
Medical University of South Carolina	Areas within Georgetown and Charleston Counties, South Carolina
Morehouse School of Medicine	Areas within Fulton County, Georgia
Mount Sinai School of Medicine	Areas within East Harlem, New York
New York University School of Medicine	Areas within New York City including the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York
Oklahoma State Department of Health	Areas throughout Oklahoma
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance	Areas within Los Angeles and Orange County, California
Regents of the University of California-Los Angeles	Areas within Los Angeles and Orange County, California
University of Illinois at Chicago	Areas in several Chicago neighborhoods including Albany Park, Chicago Lawn, Lawndale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, and West Town, Illinois
REACH U.S. Community Name	Geography
Action Communities (ACs)
Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), University of Arizona	An area in Pima County, Arizona
Center for Community Health, Education & Research	Areas within the Boston, Massachusetts
City of Chicago	Areas in several Chicago neighborhoods including Albany Park, Chicago Lawn, Lawndale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, and West Town, Illinois
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma	Areas within the southeast corner of Oklahoma
Community Health Councils, Inc.	Areas within South Los Angeles, California
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians	Areas within Jackson and Swain counties, North Carolina
Intertribal Council of Michigan	Areas in parts of Chippewa, Menominee and Isabella Counties, Michigan
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor UCLA Medical Center	Areas within South Los Angles, California
Seattle & King County Department of Public Health	Areas within King County in Seattle, Washington
Southeast Chicago Development Commission	Areas in several Chicago neighborhoods including South Deering, South Chicago, East Side, and Hegewisch, Illinois
Special Service for Groups	Areas within Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California
To Our Children's Future with Health, Inc.	Areas within Western portions of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Vernon J. Harris East End Community Health Center	Areas within the city of Richmond, Virginia
Waianae District Comprehensive Health & Hospital Board	Areas within the city of Waianae, Hawaii
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services	Areas within Kanawha and McDowell County, West Virginia
YMCA of Greater Cleveland	Areas within Cleveland, Ohio
YMCA of the Santa Clara Valley	Areas within Gilroy and Santa Clara Valley areas, California

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3. Who conducts the survey?

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago is conducting the REACH U.S. Risk Factor Survey for the CDC. For more information about NORC*, please visit www.norc.org*.

4. What is the survey design and description?

The REACH U.S. Risk Factor Survey primarily uses a unique address-based sampling approach that targets specific geographic areas across the country where REACH U.S. interventions have been implemented. Once the households have been sampled in each of the 28 communities, NORC at the University of Chicago conducts interviews by phone, mail and in-person to gather important health data from selected adults aged 18 years or older. These data allow CDC to track trends in community health in the areas where REACH U.S. interventions have been launched.

5. What is the time period for the survey?

The first year of the REACH U.S. Risk Factor Survey data collection will continue through the latter portion of 2009. Four additional rounds of yearly data collection are scheduled through 2013.

6. Can I call a toll free number for more information?

For more information about the REACH U.S. Risk Factor Survey, please call the CDC Project Officer at 1-888-637-1563.

If you have been asked to participate in the survey, you may call NORC toll-free at 1-877-732-8194.

7. What is the questionnaire used in the survey?

To see more detailed information about the survey questionnaire, see PDF. (PDF–627K)

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* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.

One or more documents on this Web page is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Acrobat Reader (a free application) to view and print these documents.

Page last reviewed: November 20, 2009
Page last modified: November 20, 2009
Content source: Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion