Restaurant Heart Health Survey

The Restaurant Heart Health Survey (RHHS) is a statewide face-to-face survey used by local health departments and the Division of Public Health to assess the smoking and dining policies and practices of individual restaurants in each county. The survey is coordinated at the state level by the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and Tobacco Prevention and Control Branches of the North Carolina Division of Public Health. Local Health Departments conduct the actual surveys. The Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branches provide the survey packets, coordinate data entry and data analysis, and generate county and statewide reports.

Although the survey is conducted every year, a county does not need to participate every year. Many choose to participate every other year or every third year. The Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch recommends that each county participate once every three years.

Participating counties can benefit in many ways:

• Counties get a list of restaurants that have smoke-free and/or healthy menu policies and practices in place. This list can help create a guide to healthy/smoke-free dining in the county.
• Counties get a list of restaurants that have expressed a need for assistance with going smoke-free or implementing healthy menu policies and practices. This list can help meet action plan objectives related to tobacco use or healthy eating.
• Counties can compare the dining/smoke-free policies and practices of local restaurants with those from other counties and across the state.
• Counties can use data from this report to apply for funding from other sources.
• Over the years, counties can use surveys conducted in multiple years to track the environment/policy changes that have resulted from the efforts of your health department. 

• Restaurant Heart Health Survey (for Local Health Department use only)
• Surveillance Update: N.C. Restaurant Smoking Policies, 1999-2006

For more information, please call Scott Proescholdbell at 919-707-5412 or Sara Huston at 919-707-5363.