Health survey reliability in an active duty population

We examined the reliability of data collected from the Health Enrollment Assessment Review (HEAR) survey, a self-report instrument administered by the Department of Defense styled after the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Survey responses from a convenience sample of active duty service members who completed a HEAR survey on two occasions were examined. We measured test-retest reliability by comparing individuals' responses to several of the survey items and compared HEAR reliability patterns with the reliability patterns of similar studies conducted with the BRFSS. The majority of estimates reflected fair to excellent reliability. We found substantial agreement between the results of this investigation and similar BRFSS studies. Our findings support the reliability of responses from the HEAR survey for active duty military members. Our results were generally consistent with those of other studies despite differences in survey administration, respondent characteristics, and privacy guarantees.