Canadian Health Measures Survey: sampling strategy overview

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the sampling strategy developed for the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). The CHMS was designed to collect key health information using a computer-assisted personal interview and a physical health examination. It began in March 2007 and will be conducted to 2009. A nationally representative sample of approximately 5,000 respondents aged 6 to 79 will be interviewed at home and asked to visit a mobile clinic where health care professionals measure several aspects of their physical health. The CHMS presents several challenges including: the need to have respondents who live within a reasonable commuting distance of the clinics; the difficulty of reaching the desired sample size for youths; and sub-sampling of measures related to exposure to environmental pollutants. The sampling strategy described in this article will address these challenges.