Table 1 Overall number and ranking of reliability and validity tests for BRFSS estimates
Topic | Number of reliability/ validity tests identified | Quality of reliability tests | Quality of validity tests | Overall assessment of BRFSS validity and reliability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Access to Health Care/ General Health | 4 | High (test/retest) | High (comparisons with other surveys and HMO records) | High levels of reliability and validity using published information and test retest methods; BRFSS noted to have higher proportions of persons reporting poorer health. |
Immunization and Preventive testing | 4 | High (test/retest) | High (comparisons with other surveys, national registry data, medical records) | BRFSS rates highly reliable; Validity testing against medical records of individuals high; Validity testing indicating over reporting for some screening tests |
Physical activity | 8 | High (test/retest; time trend) | High (comparisons with other surveys, respondent logs, accelerometers, physical measures) | Better reliability assessment among physically active groups; self-reports substantially reliable; Validity when compared to physical measures moderate |
Chronic conditions | 4 | High (test/retest; comparisons with telephone and written responses) | High (comparisons with physical measures, prescription drug use data, medical history) | High levels of agreement in reliability testing; Some differences in prevalence rates among national surveys when compared to physical measures. |
Mental Health Measures | 2 | High (test/retest with multiple indicators) | N/A | Substantial agreement between test/retest measures |
Obesity | 3 | N/A | Moderate (comparisons against other national surveys, physical measures) | Self-reports reliable across modes; Differences between self-reports and physical measures |
Tobacco use | 2 | N/A | Moderate (comparisons with other national surveys, physical measures) | Self-reports reliable across modes; Differences between self-reports and physical measures |
Alcohol/Substance abuse | 2 | Moderate | Moderate (comparisons with other national surveys) | Trends and risk factors in BRFSS validated by other national surveys; BRFSS prevalence rates lower than other measures at national level and some state levels |
Health risk and Sexual behavior | 2 | N/A | Moderate (comparisons with other national surveys) | BRFSS produces slightly higher level estimates of measures than other national survey; Differences in prevalence rates of HIV testing question. |
Injury and violence | 1 | N/A | Moderate (comparisons with other survey in nonrandom setting) | High levels of agreement between two surveys using nonrandom samples |