Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

BRFSS Industry and Occupation (I&O) Data: How external researchers can request access

Public-use BRFSS datasets are available at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss.

• BRFSS datasets that include industry and occupation (I&O) are considered confidential and sensitive and are not available to the public. Researchers wishing to analyze confidential/sensitive BRFSS data, such as I&O, should contact CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)’s Research Data Center (RDC).  BRFSS is currently not listed on the RDC webpage.
  Please note:
  • There is a fee for using datasets through the RDC.
  • The RDC  requires researchers to submit a research proposal outlining the need for sensitive data and identifying potential disclosure risks. When completing the proposal, researchers should enter “BRFSS” in the “Non-NCHS” data box and “Not applicable – data hosting” in the “NCHS” line.
  • Once the proposal has been approved, the RDC will work with the researcher to create a data file specific to their research question.  The RDC offers researchers several modes of access.
  • BRFSS datasets containing I&O are available for analysis, starting with survey year 2013.
  • BRFSS datasets with I&O become available approximately 12 months after the survey is completed.