2021 ATS Methods

This report summarizes results from the 2021 ATS and trend analyses using previous versions of the ATS.

In this section, WYSAC provides a general summary of the methods used to collect and analyze the data for the 2021 ATS. Additional technical details, including criteria for determining statistical significance, are in the appendices.

Appendix A provides the technical details of the methods used to collect the data for the 2021 ATS as reported by WYSAC’s Survey Research Center.

Appendix B provides tables reporting Wyoming’s state-level unweighted counts, weighted percentages, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for weighted percentages for every survey item and WYSAC-calculated variable.

Appendix C provides details of statistical analyses summarized in the body of this report.

Trained WYSAC telephone interviewers conducted the telephone interviews. Calling began on April 15, 2021, and ended on September 2, 2021. WYSAC callers completed 1,999 surveys (52% on cell phones; 48% on landlines).

In some figures and tables, percentages may not total 100% because respondents could choose more than one response. Occasionally, rounding of the actual percentages may result in reporting percentages that do not total 100.

Key Limitations

Most ATS survey items have been tested and validated by the CDC and reused over time. However, the ATS relies on self‐reported data, respondents’ memory of events, and their interpretation of the survey items. Therefore, the results presented here might include recall errors or respondent bias (such as not reporting embarrassing or unpopular behaviors).

In addition, the 2021 ATS was administered during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This presented logistical difficulties in hiring callers to conduct the interviews and maintaining a safe environment within the call center. Most results do not give a reason to suspect the pandemic had a large impact on the estimates reported in this document. That is, they are generally consistent with patterns from past data. Exceptions to this are noted in the report as needed.

The ATS has a complex skip pattern that means not all respondents are asked each question. For example, people who have never smoked are not asked about quitting smoking. In some cases, fewer than 50 people were asked an item. Estimates generated from such small groups are extremely imprecise, so WYSAC does not report them in the body of the report. This follows the example set by the CDC in reporting Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) statistics (https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/).