New York City Community Health Survey, 2008

The New York City Community Health Survey (CHS) is a telephone survey conducted annually by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The CHS conducted in 2008 collected information from 7,554 New York adult residents aged 18 years and older from all 5 boroughs of New York City -- Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. All data collected are self-report. Data are available at the level of 33 different neighborhoods, defined by ZIP code. The survey is conducted to inform health program decisions, to increase the understanding of the relationship between health behavior and health status, and to support health policy positions. Respondents were asked about their physical activity, body weight, general health, and whether they had ever had a flu shot. Multiple questions addressed respondents' smoking habits, including their current smoking status, where their last cigarette was purchased, whether they were heavy smokers, whether they tried to stop smoking for a period of time, and what, if any, aids did they use to for smoking cessation. Additional information was collected on respondents' colonoscopy, mammogram, and pap smear screenings, hypertension, cholesterol, asthma, diabetes, and depression diagnosis. Information was also collected from those diagnosed on whether they were taking any medication to control their cholesterol and depression. Other topics covered included whether respondents take aspirin everyday, respondents' sexual identity, history and contraception preference, whether they had ever been tested for HIV, respondents' alcohol consumption, and whether they had ever experienced domestic violence and sexual assault. Weights were constructed at the UHF-level to allow the sample to provide neighborhood-level estimations of both individual adults and of households in New York City. The data contains a weight variable (WT9) that should be used in analyzing the data. Demographic variables include gender, age, marital status, employment status, race, poverty level, income, and education level.