Jun 8, 2011
here is the response when I emailed Jessie:
I apologize for any inconvenience the calls have caused you. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a random digit dialed survey that is conducted among a representative sample of 7,000 Vermont adults each year. The BRFSS is completed by all US states and several territories. The protocol for calling is established by the Centers for Disease Control. As part of these protocols, several attempts are made to contact the number selected.
In 2011, our sample includes 600 cell phone surveys. Due to the increasing proportion of adults who have only a cell phone this type of telephone was added beginning in 2009 to help ensure the representativeness of the sample.
The name ‘Vermont Department of Health’ does not appear on caller ID because we use a sub-contractor to complete the BRFSS calls. While the contractor makes the calls on our behalf, we do not want it to appear that it was the health department calling, when in fact it is not. In addition, with calls made to cell phones, caller ID often does not transfer the caller’s name if they are not in the phone’s contact list. This is a limitation of the technology that will hopefully be addressed at some point in the future. Calls made to land line telephones as part of this survey show the sub-contractor’s name, usually as ‘ICF Macro’ or “Macro International’.
As the survey is random, I do not have your cell phone number. If you would like me to remove the number from calling please send it to me.
Feel free to contact me with any additional questions you may have, either at this email address or at 802-863-7663.
Thank you,
Jessie Brosseau, MPH
BRFSS Coordinator
Division of Health Surveillance
Vermont Department of Health