About Us

In 1999, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services outsourced the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to the University of Missouri.  

 

The objective of this partnership was to

increase quality, quantity, and availability of

chronic disease data while promoting the

vision of healthier people and communities.

 

We continue to grow.  We now have the

physical space and computing capacity to

conduct over 30,000 telephone interviews

per year.

 

 

Our goal is to improve the health of the population and advance science through surveillance, research and practice.

 

Our center is committed to the scholarship of discovery:

 

· To conduct surveillance through a subcontract with DHSS.

 

· To discover new knowledge through research that integrates social, behavioral, cultural and physical factors critical to understanding problems, implementing programs, and developing policies focused on chronic disease prevention and health promotion.

 

· To integrate the expertise of multiple disciplines in pursuit of understanding determinants of disparities in health and health care.

 

· To disseminate knowledge on disparities of health and health care by educating health care providers and community members through innovative teaching methods.

 

· To apply this knowledge to the practice of disease prevention and health promotion through partnerships with community and academic collaborators.

 

· To support other researchers through provision of data collection, analysis and reporting.

 

This mission is accomplished by advancing research in surveillance and health disparity related determinants, and disseminating state of the art information via peer-reviewed publications and presentations.