Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Abstract Background The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual survey designed to identify trends in the public’s health. In its 2019 field survey, the U.S. state of GA tested a new 3 – item module to measure the numbers of bereaved, resident adults aged 18 years and older....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-023-01917-5 |
| _version_ | 1797801391980281856 |
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| author | Changle Li Toni P. Miles Ye Shen Rana Bayakly Moses Ido M. Mahmud Khan |
| author_facet | Changle Li Toni P. Miles Ye Shen Rana Bayakly Moses Ido M. Mahmud Khan |
| author_sort | Changle Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual survey designed to identify trends in the public’s health. In its 2019 field survey, the U.S. state of GA tested a new 3 – item module to measure the numbers of bereaved, resident adults aged 18 years and older. Participants were eligible if they answered ‘Yes’ to the item ‘Have you experienced the death of a family member or close friend in the years 2018 or 2019?’. This analysis explores two research questions. Can estimates for bereavement prevalence be derived without large sampling errors, low precision, and small subsamples? Can multiple imputation techniques be applied to overcome non-response and missing data to support multivariate modeling? Methods BRFSS is a non-institutionalized sample of adults aged 18 years and older living in the U.S. state of Georgia. Analyses in this study were conducted under two scenarios. Scenario 1 applies the complex sample weights created by the Centers for Disease Control and imputes values for missing responses. Scenario 2 treats the data as a panel – no weighting combined with removal of persons with missing data. Scenario 1 reflects the use of BRFSS data for public health and policy, while Scenario 2 reflects data as it is commonly used in social science research studies. Results The bereavement screening item has a response rate (RR) of 69.1% (5206 of 7534 persons). Demographic subgroups and categories of health have RR of 55% or more. Under Scenario 1, the estimated prevalence of bereavement is 45.38%, meaning that 3,739,120 adults reported bereaved in 2018 or 2019. The estimated prevalence is 46.02% with Scenario 2 which removes persons with any missing data (4,289 persons). Scenario 2 overestimates the bereavement prevalence by 1.39%. An illustrative logistic model is presented to show the performance of exposure to bereavement under the two data scenarios. Conclusions Recent bereavement can be ascertained in a surveillance survey accounting for biases in response. Estimating bereavement prevalence is needed for measuring population health. This survey is limited to one US state in a single year and excludes persons aged 17 years and younger. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:49:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b1efc53d72214305b441490ebb29b8ee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2288 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:49:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b1efc53d72214305b441490ebb29b8ee2023-06-18T11:17:33ZengBMCBMC Medical Research Methodology1471-22882023-06-0123111010.1186/s12874-023-01917-5Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)Changle Li0Toni P. Miles1Ye Shen2Rana Bayakly3Moses Ido4M. Mahmud Khan5Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of GeorgiaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of GeorgiaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of GeorgiaGeorgia Department of Public HealthGeorgia Department of Public HealthDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of GeorgiaAbstract Background The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual survey designed to identify trends in the public’s health. In its 2019 field survey, the U.S. state of GA tested a new 3 – item module to measure the numbers of bereaved, resident adults aged 18 years and older. Participants were eligible if they answered ‘Yes’ to the item ‘Have you experienced the death of a family member or close friend in the years 2018 or 2019?’. This analysis explores two research questions. Can estimates for bereavement prevalence be derived without large sampling errors, low precision, and small subsamples? Can multiple imputation techniques be applied to overcome non-response and missing data to support multivariate modeling? Methods BRFSS is a non-institutionalized sample of adults aged 18 years and older living in the U.S. state of Georgia. Analyses in this study were conducted under two scenarios. Scenario 1 applies the complex sample weights created by the Centers for Disease Control and imputes values for missing responses. Scenario 2 treats the data as a panel – no weighting combined with removal of persons with missing data. Scenario 1 reflects the use of BRFSS data for public health and policy, while Scenario 2 reflects data as it is commonly used in social science research studies. Results The bereavement screening item has a response rate (RR) of 69.1% (5206 of 7534 persons). Demographic subgroups and categories of health have RR of 55% or more. Under Scenario 1, the estimated prevalence of bereavement is 45.38%, meaning that 3,739,120 adults reported bereaved in 2018 or 2019. The estimated prevalence is 46.02% with Scenario 2 which removes persons with any missing data (4,289 persons). Scenario 2 overestimates the bereavement prevalence by 1.39%. An illustrative logistic model is presented to show the performance of exposure to bereavement under the two data scenarios. Conclusions Recent bereavement can be ascertained in a surveillance survey accounting for biases in response. Estimating bereavement prevalence is needed for measuring population health. This survey is limited to one US state in a single year and excludes persons aged 17 years and younger.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-023-01917-5BRFSSBereavementGriefAgingPopulation SurveillanceWeighting |
| spellingShingle | Changle Li Toni P. Miles Ye Shen Rana Bayakly Moses Ido M. Mahmud Khan Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) BMC Medical Research Methodology BRFSS Bereavement Grief Aging Population Surveillance Weighting |
| title | Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) |
| title_full | Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) |
| title_fullStr | Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) |
| title_short | Measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey: the 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) |
| title_sort | measuring bereavement prevalence in a complex sampling survey the 2019 georgia behavioral risk factor surveillance system brfss |
| topic | BRFSS Bereavement Grief Aging Population Surveillance Weighting |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-023-01917-5 |
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