The Community Health Improvement Epidemiology (CHIE) staff have expertise in the implementation of health surveys and supports the Center for Community Health Improvement (CCHI) to provide consultation and assistance regarding state health improvement and initiatives.
Community Health
The CHIE staff consists of two regional community health epidemiology program coordinators who have expertise in the spread and risk factors of chronic disease, and assists Virginia’s Local Health Districts (LHDs) in their community health improvement work. The team helps plan and organize health projects, conduct research to make policy recommendations, and evaluate program effectiveness in collaboration with Population Health Teams in Virginia’s (LHDs).
Health Surveys
Staff within the CHIE team coordinate multiple surveillance projects created and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The team consists of a lead coordinator who serves as a liaison between VDH, CDC, and the external contractors who implement the survey, and three epidemiologists who help with survey samples, data analyses, and creating datasets and reports. Indicators from health surveys are used for program and policy recommendations, and State and County Health Assessments and Improvement Plans in Virginia. A brief description of our health surveys are below.
VA PRAMS, or the Virginia Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, is a survey of mothers who have recently had a baby. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started PRAMS in 1987 to improve the health of mothers and infants in the United States. PRAMS provides information about a woman's experiences before, during and after a pregnancy that resulted in a live birth. The PRAMS survey is currently conducted in 50 US jurisdictions and represents 81% of all live births in the U.S.
The Virginia Youth Survey (VYS) has been developed to monitor health risk behaviors that strongly contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems, such as bullying and mental health issues among youth and adults within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The survey is conducted every odd year in Virginia public schools that are randomly selected.
The Virginia School Health Profiles is a school-based survey that helps VDH and the Department of Education monitor the status of school health education and practices. VDH conducts the Profiles surveys during even years with school principals and lead health educators.
The Virginia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), otherwise known as the Virginia Adult Health Survey (VAHS) is a telephone survey conducted by the health departments of all states and some territories with assistance from CDC. The BRFSS is the largest and longest continuously conducted telephone health surveillance system in the world.