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Background: Starting in the mid- to late 2000’s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began using social media (e.g., social media sites, badges/buttons, widgets, e-cards, etc.). Around 2012, manuscripts were published confirming the adoption and use of social media in state and local health departments. However, a 2014 report by the National Association of County and City Health Officials noted limitations and challenges for health departments with creating, posting, and managing social media content.
Program background: CDC’s Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) provides valuable data on health risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and the use of preventive services for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. The data are used by public health practitioners targeting and building health promotion programs. At present, the only way to interact with BRFSS data is through the BRFSS website (http://www.cdc.gov/brfss), CDC’s Chronic Disease CDC’s Chronic Disease and Health Promotion Open Data portal (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov), or by downloading BRFSS data files for analysis.
Evaluation Methods and Results: DCH worked with a contractor and five other CDC divisions (Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention; Division of Diabetes Translation; Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity; Division of Population Health; Office on Smoking and Health) to develop a social media widget. Seventeen questions that focused on chronic diseases or their risk factors were chosen. National and state BRFSS data were exported in Excel spreadsheets from the BRFSS site for use in the widget. The widget presents data in a visually appealing format that clearly compares national and state data. The widget was built using responsive design principles for use on mobile phones, websites, and through social media. A test version was shown to CDC staff and BRFSS program staff in person; reactions were positive and individuals asked when the final product would be available for use. The widget will be embedded with tracking code to help CDC evaluate which organizations and what websites are using the widget.
Conclusions: The BRFSS widget is an innovative and cost-effective tool for state health departments to share data through web or social media sites. It can be used as a resource for information and as a driver of digital media content for CDC, BRFSS, and state health departments. Future work will include exploring options for connecting the widget to an open data platform.
Implications for research and/or practice: The BRFSS widget can be posted to web or social media sites and provides an easy, user-friendly way to share the data with public audiences (compared to downloading data or visiting the BRFSS website). It can also be used by chronic disease programs or partners to promote health observances or make the case for prevention programs.