Community Health Survey 2007 Methods
CHS 2007 continued to expand upon the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Several modules were added, updated, and/or brought back from prior years to address emerging initiatives and health concerns while enabling assessments of key indicators over time.
TARGET POPULATION:
As in prior years, non-institutionalized adults aged 18 and older who live in a household with a landline telephone in New York City (the five borough area).
HEALTH TOPICS COVERED:
CHS 2007 covered the following health topics: general health status, health care access, dental care, preventive counseling, mental health, cardiovascular health, diabetes, asthma, physical activity, nutrition, smoking, second-hand smoke, child care, cancer screening, HIV, sexual behavior, alcohol use, and immunizations. In addition, a number of demographic variables were included to facilitate weighting and to allow for comparisons between groups of New Yorkers.
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY:
As in previous years, CHS 2007 used a stratified random sample in order to produce citywide, as well as neighborhood-specific, estimates. Strata were defined using the United Hospital Fund's (UHF) neighborhood designation, modified slightly for the addition of new zip codes since UHF's initial definitions. There are a total of 42 UHF neighborhoods in NYC, each defined by several adjoining zip codes. The total sample size in 2007 was 9,554, distributed among the 42 neighborhoods. To increase statistical power, several neighborhoods were combined, resulting in 34 neighborhoods.
A computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system
was used to collect the survey data. The CHS sampling frame was constructed with
a list of telephone numbers provided by a commercial vendor. Upon agreement to participate in the survey, one adult was randomly selected from the household to complete the interview.
The survey was pre-translated into English, Spanish, Russian and Mandarin Chinese. In addition, a translation service was used to conduct the survey in a wide variety of other languages. The Baruch Survey Research Unit conducted data collection; fielding began in March 2007 and ended in November 2007. The average interview lasted 25 minutes. All data collected were self-reported.
LIMITATIONS:
The survey sampling methodology does not capture the following groups: households without any telephone service and households that have only a cellular phone (only landlines are included in the initial sampling frame).
RESPONSE RATE:
- Sample size: 9,554
- Response Rate: 14%
- Cooperation Rate: 79% (1)
DATA ANALYSIS:
In order to appropriately analyze CHS data, weights were
applied to each record. The weight consisted of the probability of selection
(number of adults in each household / number of residential telephone lines), as
well as a post-stratification weight. The post-stratification weights were
created by weighting each record up to the population of the UHF neighborhood,
while taking into account the respondent's age, sex and race.
A detailed methodology report is available as a Microsoft
Word document. If you would like a copy of this report, need assistance
with the data or wish to suggest additional variables to be added, please email
survey@health.nyc.gov.
(1) The American Association for Public Opinion Research. Standard definitions: Final dispositions of case codes and outcome rates for surveys. Ann Arbor, Michigan: AAPOR, 2000.
