SAS/AF, SAS/IntrNet and ODS: Automation of State Health Data Collection and Report Generation

Overview

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a state based health information phone survey that has been collected since 1984 and is the largest continuously conducted telephone health survey in the world. The data is collected each month by each state and the District of Columbia and three US territories and uploaded to the CDC via the internet. Once the ASCII file or zipped ASCII file is detected, a SAS/AF application converts the ASCII file into a SAS data set and puts the file in the correct state folder. Once the updated data set is detected in the folder, a SAS/IntrNet application then runs a number of programs that generate data sets and reports.