I have received many phone calls about a health survey that is being conducted by United Health. I contacted the CT Dept. of Public Health to find out if these calls were legitimate and this was their response:
The telephone survey is a national effort supported by funds awarded to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey has been found to be a cost effective way to learn about the health of Connecticut residents locally, and US residents nationally.
It is conducted in all 50 states. Information is used to help estimate the prevalence of a variety of conditions (eg. diabetes and asthma) and is used to help guide public health programs at the local, state and national level.
In Connecticut, for example, past questions on Lyme disease helped DPH develop messages to the public about Lyme disease prevention. Additionally, questions on high blood pressure led to more screening clinics, and questions on mammography helped to make mammograms more available.
Landline and cellular telephone numbers are randomly selected by the CDC for participation in this voluntary health survey. Approximately 6,000 residents complete the survey each year. In the past, only landlines were called, however, now cellular telephones are called as well. In many younger and mobile households, cell phones have replaced landlines.
Therefore, the survey cannot just rely on landlines anymore. In addition, where the landline number can be matched with an address, the residents receive a letter informing them of the survey to assure them that the survey is legitimate and to encourage participation.
The survey is developed and coordinated at the DPH in conjunction with the CDC. Each year, approximately two-thirds of the questions on the survey are asked by all states and about one-third of the questions are specific to Connecticut. Connecticut contracts with ICF Macro, through a competitive bid process, to conduct the survey.
This survey is anonymous and voluntary. No personal identifying information is kept in the database. The survey has been continuously conducted in Connecticut for over 20 years and is exempt from the do not call list. No donations are requested and there is no solicitation of funds. Results from past surveys can be found on the CDC web site at http://www.cdc.gov/brfss and the content of the survey can be found on the DPH web site athttp://www.ct.gov/dph/brfss .
Please pass this along to your friends and neighbors.
