Royce Park

​Summary: The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) has employed an addressed-based sampling (ABS) frame with a mail push-to-web interview followed by a telephone nonresponse follow-up as the primary data collection approach since 2019. However, the nature of the self-administered web survey results in more survey breakoffs than the previous computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI). During CHIS 2021 data collection, the CHIS team observed that a large proportion of questions with high break-off incidence began with transition statements, such as “The following questions are about…” or “These next questions are about...”. Therefore, experiments were warranted to test whether eliminating transition statements leads to a reduction in survey breakoffs during CHIS 2022.

This study evaluates an experiment conducted in CHIS 2022, where respondents were evenly split and randomly assigned to two conditions: (1) a treatment group where transition statements were removed from the selected twenty-six questions; (2) a control group with the original question wording, including transition statements.

Findings: Data demonstrate that eliminating transition statements results in substantive survey break-offs reductions. Aggregated breakoffs from the 26 questions have decreased by 44.2%. For individual questions, reduction rates range from 14% to 82%. Results also show that removing the transition statements converted sufficient partials to fully completes and slightly shortened interview length. Consequently, all transition statements except an outlier have been removed for the remainder of the CHIS 2022 and transition statements will be less likely to be included in new survey question development for the CHIS.

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• Report: Impacts of Transition Statements in Survey Questions on Survey Break-off: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

​Summary: As a large, well-established population survey, the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) was well-poised to adapt to the changing conditions and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors’ goal was to continue to provide equity-focused data products relevant to public health, but with a more rapid data processing timeframe to meet the immediate insights needed during the pandemic. This study uses data from the 2020 CHIS.

The CHIS sample design is intended to support annual estimates for California and many individual counties by aggregating all interviews conducted across all weekly sample waves. The need for timely data during the pandemic and the strong response observed during this time warranted examining the feasibility of producing more timely subannual estimates. CHIS employed a strategy that pooled all interviews conducted across sample waves within a given calendar month. Due to the pandemic and public health concerns, CHIS resolved to add COVID-19-related questions with the planning for a COVID-19 module beginning in mid-March 2020.

Findings: The 2020 CHIS demonstrated for the first time the viability of pooling completed surveys conducted across sample waves with a calendar month to produce monthly statewide estimates. The scientific value is largely to inform other surveys that reporting preliminary monthly estimates form an annual population-based survey is possible, albeit limited to a subset of indicators. COVID-19 exposed longstanding inequities shaped by socioeconomic conditions and opportunities.

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• Journal Article: COVID-19 Rapid Response: How the California Health Interview Survey Adapted During the Global Pandemic
• Press Release

In 1998, California passed the California Children and Families Act to improve development for children from the prenatal stage to five years of age. One goal of this ongoing commitment is to expand understanding of the social and physical environments that can impact a child's well-being and school readiness.

Using data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) for the years 2011-2014, this report presents findings on families with children ages 0-5 years. It breaks down differences between urban, suburban, and rural families, and it highlights the characteristics of families who speak a language other than English in the home. As more than half of families with young children in California speak a language other than English in the home, the characteristics of dual language households are highlighted.

As a large population-based health survey of the nation's most diverse state, the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) provides relatively large samples of relatively rare population groups. Despite being the "T" in LGBT, transgender persons have been left out of CHIS and other population-health surveys. The combination of low prevalence (estimated at less than 1%) and varied definitions of the term "transgender" have led to assumptions that identifying transgender persons is difficult in general public health surveys. CHIS pilot tested four versions of gender identity questions in the final quarter of 2014. Versions were randomly assigned across approximately 3,000 respondents age 18 to 70.

The pilot test was administered in English and Spanish and was conducted in production data collection, producing results that are direct estimates of the transgender population and a test of question wording effects. The authors present differences in transgender identification, missing data rates, and interview breakoffs across the four versions. The pilot test results suggest that these questions can be successfully administered in population-health surveys.