CHIS researchers outline how survey methods were modified to meet the demand for timely data and making data available prior to annual release.

How was the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) team able to release early data for the first time in the survey’s history? An article published yesterday by the American Journal of Public Health looks at how CHIS was able to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic by releasing timely data on how Californians navigated the pandemic’s conditions and challenges. As a large, well-established statewide population survey, CHIS researchers released early data from the 2020 survey through the CHIS COVID-19 Preliminary COVID-19 Estimates Dashboard beginning in September 2020. These included questions in a COVID-19 module that began in May 2020. The team finalized the module in April 2020 and included indicators on COVID-19 concerns, testing, and diagnoses, as well as financial and social impacts of the pandemic and personal acceptance of the vaccine.