​​​​Did you get a call to participate in a health survey?

Division of Public Health

The Alaska Department of Health (DOH) Division of Public Health (DPH) conducts several mail and telephone-based surveys throughout the year to track important health trends, evaluate public education campaigns, and monitor program efforts in Alaska. Your assistance is vital to our efforts to collect quality data and provide the public with robust health-related information.  We value your time, participation, and feedback regarding our efforts to protect and promote the health of Alaskans. Thank you.

Some surveys that we conduct:

• The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a year-round, self-report survey of adults in Alaska. The BRFSS assesses lifestyle factors—such as physical activity, smoking, and diet—that have been shown to be related to health. The caller ID for these surveys is “Alaska DOH,” 907-802-3493. In some areas, however, the caller ID will only display the telephone number due to limitations of caller ID providers.
  • Contact: BRFSS Coordinator – 907-269-8127; BRFSS​@alaska.gov

• The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is an ongoing survey of Alaska-resident women who have recently delivered a baby. PRAMS asks questions about the mother’s experiences before, during and after her pregnancy.
  • Contact: PRAMS Coordinator – 888-269-3470; mch-epi@alaska.gov

• The Childhood Understanding Behaviors Survey (CUBS) is a 3-year follow-up survey of women who completed the PRAMS survey and are still living in Alaska. CUBS asks questions about the mother and her 3-year-old child’s behaviors, experiences, health and health care.
  • Contact: CUBS Coordinator – 888-269-3470; mch-epi@Alaska.gov

• The Alaska Adult Tobacco Survey is an annual survey that collects information from randomly selected Alaskan adults and asks them about their tobacco related opinions, health status, and tobacco use. 
• Contact:  Lead Tobacco Prevention Evaluator – 907-269-8181
  
• Other surveys – DOH periodically conducts other short-term surveys for purposes such as evaluating the effectiveness of public education, or gathering detailed information on a specific public health issue. These surveys will also follow the guidelines below.

We recognize that some people may be hesitant to answer questions from strangers, or may have concerns about providing private (health) information in a survey. Legitimate surveys conducted on behalf of the Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Health, will include the following:

• A statement introducing the topic of the survey
• A statement confirming the survey is being conducted on behalf of the Alaska DOH or DPH
• A contact name and telephone number for general questions regarding the survey
• Contact information for the State employee responsible for the survey project

Multiple call attempts to a single phone number are typically required to improve the validity of the data.

While we may ask personal health-related questions and standard demographic questions like a person’s gender or age, we will never ask for your social security number, credit card information, or other personal financial records.

If you are unsure if the call you received is from the Alaska DOH, or if you still have questions, please call or email Andrea Fenaughty by phone: 907-269-8025 or email: andrea.fenaughty@alaska.gov.