If you care about LGBTQ Health Equity, then chances are you need to know more about the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, or BRFSS. BRFSS is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.
The survey is conducted in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. While most questions are standard, some supplemental questions vary by state, and a growing number of states are choosing to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in order to better understand the disparities LGBTQ people experience.
The National LGBT Cancer network has developed a new fact sheet about the BRFSS. They write: “Understanding health disparities faced by LGBT Americans begins with SGM measures in population-level surveillance systems like the BRFSS. A critical first step in assessing the existence of and trends related to the health disparities many SGM populations face is to ensure that LGBT-specific demographic measure such as the BRFSS’ SGM’s optional module, also known as sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) module is adopted.”
Read the entire fact sheet below: