[Oregon_EPHT_News] FW: NEW Report: DMV records are valuable for obesity surveillance in Oregon

[CHETOCK Tara A]

(Please share widely. We apologize for cross-posting)

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The Oregon Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Oregon Tracking) is pleased to announce the release of our latest report, "DMV records are valuable for obesity surveillance in Oregon<http://www.healthoregon.org/epht>". This report presents findings from the largest validation study conducted on DMV records and demonstrates applications for the data.

The outcomes of obesity have been widely studied and publicized; obesity greatly increases the risk for many diseases and lowers life expectancy. More than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children are now obese, and public health needs reliable local data to guide prevention efforts. Oregon is the first state to enhance obesity surveillance with data from driver licenses and ID cards. Using height and weight data from DMV records, Oregon Tracking calculated community-level estimates of the population's weight status for the entire state.

Your response:

1.       But I lied about my height and weight on my driver's license!

2.       The weight on my driver's license hasn't been updated in years.

3.       That's amazing.

Our answer:

1.       You and everyone else!  Compared to survey data, we found reported weights from DMV records about 5% lower for women and 2% lower for men. But when everyone fudges a little bit, the bias is consistent. Therefore, DMV records are still useful for tracking trends and disparities.

2.       We found DMV records are sensitive to changes in the population's weight over time. Though some people may not update their information when renewing a license, estimates from DMV records track well with those from annual telephone surveys.

3.       Correct!

In the near future these data will be available to query on our public data portal<https://epht.oregon.gov/Index.aspx>.

Use these data for:

*         Community needs assessments

*         Targeting obesity prevention and control efforts

*         Evaluating interventions


Please email, Tara Chetock (tara.a.chetock at state.or.us<mailto:tara.a.chetock at state.or.us>) to be added to the Oregon Tracking list serv. Be sure to follow us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/OregonEPHT> for future updates.

The DMV report<http://www.healthoregon.org/epht> can be provided upon request in alternative formats for individuals with disabilities. Other formats may include (but are not limited to) large print, Braille, audio recordings, web-based communications and other electronic formats.


TaraChetock
Tara Chetock, MHA | Public Health Educator
Oregon Environmental Public Health Tracking
971.673.1496 | Tara.A.Chetock at state.or.us<mailto:Tara.A.Chetock at state.or.us>

Like us on Facebook [Description: cid:image001.png at 01CD9B20.0E807210] <http://www.facebook.com/OregonEPHT>




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