Design and operation of the National Survey of Children's Health, 2007

Abstract

Objectives: This report presents the development, plan, and operation of the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. This survey was designed to produce national and state-specific prevalence estimates for a variety of physical, emotional, and behavioral health indicators and measures of children's experiences with the health care system. The survey also includes questions about the family (for example, parents' health status, stress and coping behaviors, family activities) and about respondents' perceptions of the neighborhoods where their children live. Funding and direction for this survey was provided by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Methods: A random-digit-dialed sample of households with children under age 18 years was selected from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. One child was randomly selected from all children in each identified household to be the subject of the survey. The respondent was a parent or guardian who knew about the child's health and health care.

Results: A total of 91,642 interviews were completed from April 2007 to July 2008. Nearly 80% of the interviews were completed in 2007. Interviews were completed in 66.0% of identified households with children. The weighted overall response rate was 46.7%. A data file has been released that contains demographic information on the selected child, substantive health and well-being data for the child and his or her family, and sampling weights. Estimates based on the sampling weights generalize to the noninstitutionalized population of children in each state and nationwide.