The Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS) is a monthly telephone survey that occurs in various public health units areas across Ontario.
All information reported from this survey is for the complete survey year (January to December), unless otherwise specified.
Every month, a random sample of between 60 and 100 adults aged 18 years and older in each participating health unit area are interviewed regarding awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours about topics and issues of importance to public health. These can include: smoking, sun safety, use of bike helmets, water testing in private wells, air quality, etc.
The telephone survey is conducted by the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at York University on behalf of all participating health units, including the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU). SMDHU has been participating in RRFSS since 2001.
In 2017, the survey methods changed to include cell phone numbers as 20% of the sample. This may affect the response rate and could impact trends in the data from 2017 onward.
Post-stratification weights are used in the analysis of some of our data to account for differences between the population reached by the telephone survey and the make-up of the general population, for example by age and sex.
For more information about the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System, visit their website at www.rrfss.ca.