Business Office: (608) 262-1688
Hiring & Staffing Office: (608) 262-2076
Field Office: (608) 263-0860
Fax: (608) 262-8432
The University of Wisconsin Survey Center
University of Wisconsin - Madison
1800 University Ave. Rm 102
Madison, WI 53726
Recent Projects:
Outcomes of Women Undergoing Breast SurgerySYNAR Tobacco Compliance Study
TEAM Study of African Americans with High Blood Pressure
Midwest Young Adult Study
National Health Measurement Study
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study
Puerto Rican Elderly Health Condition Project
1910 And 1920 Puerto Rican Census Project
Wisconsin Family Health Survey (FHS)
Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Study (BRFSS)
Wisconsin Job Center Evaluation Study
Food & Veggie Connection Project
Outcomes of Woment Undergoing Breast Surgery
CLIENT
Dr. Anne Nattinger, Medical College of Wisconsin
DESCRIPTION
This longitudinal survey of senior women who have undergone breast surgery related to cancer has been fielded since the fall of 2005. The survey design involves 4 waves of telephone surveys with women over age 65 in the states of New York, Florida, Illinois, and California. Women were recruited to participate approximately two years after their breast cancer surgery took place, and are being contacted each year for four years to track the kinds of treatment women receive, and their overall health outcomes. UWSC has maintained 95% response rates in each of the two follow up waves completed to date. The fourth and final wave of the survey will take place in summer of 2008.
UWSC has been conducting the yearly sample frame creation, coverage studies, and compliance checks for the state of Wisconsin since 2000.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kelly Elver
DATES IN FIELD
October 2005 - October 2008 (expected)
SYNAR Tobacco Compliance Study
CLIENT
Tana Feiner, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
DESCRIPTION
Under the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant Synar requirement, every state in the country must conduct annual unannounced random inspections of tobacco retailers to determine the compliance rate with laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18. To fulfill the Synar requirement, each year the state of Wisconsin contracts UWSC to conduct the Synar study, which involves choosing a random sample of tobacco retail outlets, inspecting the sampled outlets, and then estimating the overall state retailer violation rate based on the results of the compliance checks.
UWSC has been conducting the yearly sample frame creation, coverage studies, and compliance checks for the state of Wisconsin since 2000.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kerryann DiLoreto Oliver
DATES IN FIELD
Ongoing
TEAM Study of African Americans with High Blood Pressure
CLIENT
Dr. Bonnie Svarstad, UW Madison School of Pharmacy
DESCRIPTION
The TEAM Study is a longitudinal study of 700 African Americans with high blood pressure living in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Beloit, or Madison. The study examines the an intervention approach whereby community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in these five Wisconsin cities help educate patients about their blood pressure, medications and other strategies needed to control blood pressure, and communicate with the patients' doctors when appropriate. The UWSC is currently conducting the second wave (6-month follow-up) using in-person meetings with respondents to measure blood pressure and administer SAQs. Interviews take place in respondents' homes or at their site pharmacy. Currently, UWSC is maintaining over an 80% response rate, and will begin third wave (12-month follow-up) interviews in the summer of 2008.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kerryann DiLoreto Oliver
DATES IN FIELD
March 2007 - December 2008 (expected)
Midwest Young Adult Study
CLIENT
Dr. Mark Courtney, Partners for Our Children, University of Washington Seattle; and Dr. Amy Dworsky, University of Chicago Chapin Hall Center for Children
DESCRIPTION
In collaboration with Partners for Our Children, the Chapin Hall Center for Children, the Department of Children and Family Services in the State of Illinois, the Department of Human Services in the State of Iowa, and the Department of Health and Family Services - Division of Children and Family Services in the State of Wisconsin, UWSC interviewed approximately 775 foster care youth placed with foster care providers at Wave 1 in 2002. Roughly 225 youth were interviewed in Wisconsin, 425 in Illinois, and 80 in Iowa. Interviews were about 75 minutes in length and asked about the youth's living situation, closeness with foster care family, schooling, preparation for independent living, drug and alcohol use, and future plans. Sections from the WHM-CIDI were included in the interview. The interview also featured an ACASI (audio computer-assisted self-interview) section for administering sensitive questions about abuse and delinquency.
This longitudinal study involved follow-up rounds of in-person interviews in 2004, when some respondents were leaving foster care at the age of 19, and again in 2006 when respondents were living independently at the age of 22. Extensive tracing and location methods were employed to track respondents from wave to wave. A fourth wave of this study will be fielded in the spring of 2008. The results of this study have been used to understand the experiences of foster youth, and how various agencies and programs can address the youth's needs for services and support as they age out of the system.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kerryann DiLoreto Oliver
DATES IN FIELD
2002, 2004, 2006, (expected) 2008
National Health Measurement Study
CLIENT
Dennis G. Fryback, Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences and Department of Industrial Engineering
DESCRIPTION
This project is a national, random digit-dialed telephone survey of 2,800 community-living U.S. adults between the ages of 35 and 89 to collect information on health-related quality of life using four measurement tools that are commonly used around the world: the SF-36, the EuroQol EQ-5D, the Quality of Well-being Scale (QWB-SA), and the Health Utilities Index (HUI). Persons over the age of 65 and African-Americans are being over-sampled to provide a better understanding of how these tools work for these important sub-groups. Information on chronic health problems, psychological well-being, and socio-economic characteristics are also being collected to study how these factors affect health-related quality of life as assessed by these tools.
The key goals of this study are: (1) to develop national "benchmarks" for average scores for each of these health measurement tools, across age, gender, racial, and socio-economic groups; (2) to explore how the results of individual health assessments may vary or be the same if we use different measurement tools; and (3) to better understand how health assessments relate to the presence of chronic conditions, psychological well-being, and socio-economic status. At the end of the study, a public use data set will be available on the internet for other health services researchers who are interested in exploring these issues.
More information can be found here.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Danna Basson
DATE IN FIELD
June 2005 through June 2006
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study
CLIENT
Robert Hauser, Vilas Research Professor of Sociology
DESCRIPTION
This project is moving forward from its fifth round of data collection for the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS). The WLS began in 1957 with original data collection from 10,317 high school graduates in Wisconsin with subsequent data collection in 1964, 1975, and 1992. The most recent wave consisted of an in-depth telephone interview and a follow-up mail survey with the more than 9600 surviving men and women in the original sample. A parallel phone and mail survey was conducted with 7150 randomly selected siblings of the graduates. A shorter telephone survey was conducted with spouses of graduates and siblings. Currently, UWSC is conducting a telephone survey with widows of graduates and widows of siblings.
The WLS is a unique, large-scale longitudinal study of adults and their families that covers nearly half a century of life. It is a valuable resource for research on aging, life course, inter-generational transfers, relationships, family functioning, long term effects of education and cognitive ability, occupational careers, physical and mental well-being, and morbidity and mortality.
Most recently, UWSC conducted a massive biomarker collection for the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. 8,141 graduates were asked to donate a saliva sample using an Oragene kit and return it by mail. With the success of this effort, UWSC will be fielding a similar biomarker collection effort with the siblings. WLS investigators plan to analyze the DNA in the saliva to study the relationship of genes to health and well-being, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and depression.
Further information can be found here.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kerryann DiLoreto Oliver
DATE IN FIELD
May 2003 - April 2008
Puerto Rican Elderly Health Condition Project
CLIENT
Prof. Alberto Palloni
DESCRIPTION
The Puerto Rican Elderly Health Condition Project (PREHCO) investigates the characteristics of older adults (aged 60+) in Puerto Rico through an island-wide, cross-sectional sample survey of target individuals and their surviving spouses.
This project is a joint effort between the Survey Center and the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Puerto Rico (click here for more information). The project developmental stage of the second wave of data collection of the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions Survey (PREHCO II), including survey development and CAPI instrument design, is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2004.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Theresa Thompson-Colón
DATE IN FIELD
The 1910 And 1920 Puerto Rican Census Project
CLIENT
Prof. Alberto Palloni, Prof. Francisco Scarano and Prof. Halliman Winsborough - UW-Madison
DESCRIPTION
The 1910 and 1920 Puerto Rican Census Project consist of creating a public use samples from the 1910 and 1920 censuses of the population of Puerto Rico. Currently on it's final stage, this project adheres to the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) at the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota (click here for more information). The samples will ultimately be available through IPUMS web-based data dissemination system.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Theresa Thompson-Colón
DATE IN FIELD
Wisconsin Family Health Survey (FHS)
CLIENT
Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Health Information and Policy
DESCRIPTION
The Wisconsin Family Health Survey (FHS) is an RDD phone survey of 2400 Wisconsin residents conducted for the Department of Health and Family Services. The purpose of this annual survey is to collect statewide health information of Wisconsin residents. Oversampling of minority populations and a stratified sampling frame design allow investigators to discern racial and regional trends, among others.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Theresa Thompson-Colón
DATE IN FIELD
Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Study (BRFSS)
CLIENT
Center for Disease Control & Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
DESCRIPTION
BRFSS is an ongoing study that is coordinated by the CDC on a national level and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services in the state of Wisconsin. The BRFSS is the largest health study that studies risk factors affecting the health of America. These include the amount of exercise in one's life, one's diet, and the frequency of doctor visits. Monthly, the UWSC performs approximately 334 interviews in the state of Wisconsin.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Robert Cradock
DATE IN FIELD
Ongoing
WI Job Center Evaluation Study
CLIENT
Duane Frisch, Department of Workforce Development
DESCRIPTION
This study is a federally mandated customer service evaluation of services received from Wisconsin Job Centers. This is a CATI survey of 500 businesses and 500 employees who have used Job Center services. Respondents are asked to rate the services they have received in order to evaluate how Job Centers are responding to their needs. The study was conducted last year by the UWSC and is continuing again this year.
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Bob Cradock
DATE IN FIELD
Food & Veggie Connection Project
CLIENT
Susan Nitzke and Karen Kritsch, Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to gather information on young adults' views and eating habits related to fruit and vegetables. The responses will help develop nutrition education materials for young adults. The project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
The project is a joint effort between researchers and community-based educators in 10 states: Wisconsin, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Rhode Island, Michigan, New York, Iowa, Alabama, and Maine.
The project consists of 3 waves. This is the final wave and we are following up with the respondents after 12 months, from their first interview (8 months after their second interview).
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Shelley Boulianne
DATE IN FIELD
March 2003-November 2004