State Center for Health Statistics Statistical Brief No. 23 – January 2002
Perceptions of Public Health, Quality of Life, and the Threat of
Bioterrorism Among North Carolina Adults: Results from the
2001 NC Public Health Awareness Survey
by Harry Herrick*, Christopher Cooke**, Ziya Gizlice*
Statistical Brief No. 23
North Carolina
Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Public Health
State Center for Health Statistics January 2002
Statistical
Brief
www. schs. state. nc. us/ SCHS/
Introduction
The impetus for this survey comes from North
Carolina’s Public Health Awareness Program, aimed
at measuring and building awareness of the role of
public health in our state. Financial support for the
survey was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation in a “ Turning Point” grant to the North
Carolina Division of Public Health. The primary
purpose of the survey was to measure the public’s
understanding and perceived importance of public
health services and related issues that affect quality
of life.
Interviews were completed mainly in November of
2001, soon after the September 11th terrorist attacks
and subsequent anthrax scare. The survey was in a
position to measure the perceived threat of
bioterrorism among North Carolinians shortly after the
first cases of inhalation anthrax deaths were being
reported in the state and national media.
The Director of the NC Public Health Awareness
Program** and staff from the State Center for Health
Statistics* collaborated on the development and
implementation of this survey.
The Survey
The survey had four content areas: ( 1) Public Health
( including Boards of Health), ( 2) Community Health,
( 3) Bioterrorism, and ( 4) Selected Public Health Issues
( teen smoking and overweight children). The first
module assessed respondent knowledge of public
health and personal benefit derived from public health
services. The second module assessed perception of
healthy communities and the importance of various
quality of life issues, such as access to affordable
housing. The bioterrorism module contained two
questions: one on the perceived likelihood of a
bioterrorist attack occurring in North Carolina, and the
second on the perceived confidence of one’s health
being protected, in the event of an attack. Questions
on overweight children and teen smoking were
included in the last module.
Methods
Survey questions were field tested in early October
2001. The survey was conducted between October 29
and December 8, 2001. The survey was a random-digit-
dial telephone survey of non- institutionalized
North Carolina adults, ages 18 and older. The sample
data was weighted to represent the statewide
population of adults by age, race, and sex. The results
were tabulated by demographic status and by three
additional variables: voting status in the last national
election, active community volunteer status, and
household- with- children status. The SUDAAN
software – for complex survey designs – was used in
generating the statistics for this Brief.
The Sample
During the study period, a total of 813 interviews were
completed with one adult randomly selected from each