Case Study 2 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System In 1984, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated the state-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)–a cross-sectional telephone survey that state health departments conduct monthly over landline telephones and cellular telephones with a standardized questionnaire and technical and methodologic assistance from CDC. BRFSS is used to collect prevalence data among adult U.S. residents regarding their risk behaviors and preventive health practices that can affect their health status. Respondent data are forwarded to CDC to be aggregated for each state, returned with standard tabulations, and published at year’s end by each state. In 2011, more than 500,000 interviews were conducted in the states, the District of Columbia, and participating U.S. territories and other geographic areas. For more information go to http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/data_documentation/index.htm The proportion of the 2005 respondents by who characterized themselves as “Smoke Some Days” is below. State SmokeSomeDays State SmokeSomeDays Alabama 6 Montana 4.7 Alaska 6.2 Nebraska 5.2 Arizona 6.6 Nevada 6.5 Arkansas 5.4 New Hampshire 5 California 5.3 New Jersey 5.2 Colorado 6.3 New Mexico 6.9 Connecticut 4.1 New York 5.9 Delaware 5.2 North Carolina 5.5 Florida 6.5 North Dakota 5.2 Georgia 5.8 Ohio 4.8 Hawaii 4.9 Oklahoma 6 Idaho 4.6 Oregon 5.1 Illinois 5.7 Pennsylvania 5.7 Indiana 6.4 Rhode Island 4.4 Iowa 4.3 South Carolina 5.5 Kansas 4.2 South Dakota 6 Kentucky 5.2 Tennessee 6.3 Louisiana 6.1 Texas 6.8 Maine 4.9 Utah 3 5.5 Vermont 4.9 Massachusetts 4.6 Virginia 5.3 Michigan 5.4 Washington 5 Minnesota 5.1 West Virginia 5.4 Mississippi 5.1 Wisconsin 4.9 Missouri 4.9 Wyoming 5.1 First create relative frequency table for the values of the variable SmokeSomeDays. Then create a relative frequency distribution of the variable SmokeSomeDays. Finally, write a short 3 – 5 page report that describes the shape of the distribution. The report should contain at a minimum the following: Cover page Summary Appendix: graphs, charts, data set
