Question: In early February we received a letter from the state Department of Health informing us that our household was chosen to take part in a survey conducted by SMS Research. The next day there was a voicemail on our phone from SMS Research. How was our unlisted phone number obtained? Our telephone company charges us to keep it private. We haven’t conducted any business with DOH or SMS, so they wouldn’t have had our number on file.

Q: Is the Centers for Disease Control conducting a survey, and, if so, how did they get my cellphone number?

Q: Is the state involved with a health study with a long name? I got a call and they said it was important to participate, but now I am wondering whether it was a scam.

Answer: You’ve all been contacted to participate in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is a legitimate telephone survey administered by the Hawaii Department of Health with the help of a contractor, SMS Research. It is not a scam. Robust participation is vital to advancing public health in Hawaii.

The survey is coordinated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in all U.S. states and territories. Hawaii has been participating since 1986, and the number of people surveyed each year has grown from 500 to more than 6,000, according to the Department of Health. Individual responses are kept confidential. Results are used to improve health in the islands.

SMS conducts the telephone surveys daily throughout the year, except on Sundays.

Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo explains the particulars, including how phone numbers are collected:

“Hawaii’s BRFSS is a continuing monthly survey conducted by telephone (landline and cellphone) among a probability sample of Hawaii households. Currently, the state’s contract for conducting the survey is with SMS Research & Marketing Services Inc., a Hawaii firm. SMS receives randomly generated landline and cellphone numbers from the CDC, which purchases them from a commercial firm. In some cases, where addresses are provided with the phone numbers, we send a letter from the director of health to the household in advance advising the residents of the forthcoming survey call. However, since the survey is administered anonymously, we are not aware of the respondents’ names or addresses for the majority of numbers called.

“The Hawaii BRFSS is a research project, recognized by both national and Hawaii authorities. Legitimate research projects are not subject to the national law prohibiting household contacts for telemarketing and need not consult the national ‘do not call’ list.

“As with all surveys, complying with the BRFSS is a matter of choice. Any potential respondent contacted for the survey is free to decline. … Hawaii residents who do not wish to participate in the survey may call SMS and ask not to be called in the future.”

To opt out, Oahu residents can call 537-3356, and neighbor island residents can call 877-535-5767, toll free.

For more information and to view past reports, go to health.hawaii.gov/brfss. Data derived from previous surveys illuminate research on topics such as the burden of cardiovascular disease, the prevalence of diabetes and the risk of exposure to secondhand smoke in Hawaii, among many other topics. The Health Department needs a strong sample size in order to continue to generate valid results.

Mahalo

Many thanks to Clarence at the Kapaa Transfer Station in Kailua. After dropping off a van-ful of yard cuttings that included a huge monstera plant, I returned home to find I had lost my house keys. I went back to the transfer station on the slim chance that someone had seen the keys before they unloaded their truck. I spoke to Clarence, the caretaker on duty, and learned that no one had turned in any keys.

Facing the obvious, I was ready to leave when he surprised me by saying, “Let’s go find them!” He remembered the monstera, and I knew about where I had unloaded.

Clarence waved in a huge tractor that spread out the area where we thought it could be and actually found the monstera about 4 feet deep in a pile 10 feet high. Another kind gentleman loaned me some gloves, and the three of us worked at it until I was exhausted. Again resigned, I thanked everyone, left my business card and returned home.

Twenty minutes after I had given up, I received a call from Clarence with the news that he had found my keys undamaged (two electronic keys included). He refused any reward, but I will always remember him as someone who is willing to go the distance to help a stranger. — Peter Butler, Kaneohe

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.