District-Level Recruitment Script for the National Youth Tobacco Survey - Supplemental Documents - District Letter of Invitation

I2. District-level Recruitment Script for the National Youth Tobacco Survey Supplemental Documents - District Letter of Invitation

DISTRICT LETTER OF INVITATION

{DATE}

{FIELD}1

Dear {FIELD}2 :

Tobacco use is the single leading and most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. In November 1998, Americans won an unprecedented victory in our nation's century-long fight against tobacco use and abuse. The Attorneys General representing 46 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, successfully settled their cases with the tobacco companies. The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) amounts to $206 billion over the first 25 years.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that ___ schools in your district are among the 200 public and private schools that have been randomly selected across the United States to participate in the national 2009 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS).

Your support for the survey also would help ensure the voluntary participation of schools in your district. The selected schools are:

School

Grade(Number of Classes)

The Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) was developed by the states, with technical assistance and facilitation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The YTS has been conducted by 46 states, the District of Columbia, and several US territories. It was designed to provide states with the data necessary to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of the youth components of a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program. [Your state is among those that have conducted a successful statewide YTS].

The National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), funded by the CDC and modeled after the YTS, is the most comprehensive source of nationally representative data regarding youth and tobacco. It covers the following tobacco related topics: prevalence of use (cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, and tobacco in a pipe, bidis, and kreteks), knowledge and attitudes, media and advertising, minors access and enforcement, school curriculum, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and cessation. The NYTS is conducted biennially in even-numbered spring semesters (e.g., 2000 and 2002) and provides nationally representative data for students in grades 6-12 in the United States. Furthermore, the NYTS is the only nationally representative source of data for middle school students (grades 6-8) in the United States. The NYTS is essential for providing a national benchmark against which states and local agencies can measure the magnitude of the problem of tobacco use and design effective prevention and control programs. Within the Healthy People 2010 focus area of tobacco use, the NYTS provides data relevant to 6 health objectives. The survey also provides data to monitor one of the 10 Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2010 that addresses tobacco use.

The CDC respects the educational mission of schools; for that reason, only a small number of classes in each of the selected schools will be asked to participate. The survey will take one regular 45-minute class period to complete. Student anonymity will be safeguarded. Data will be collected by specially trained field staff. Data will not be reported by school, school district, or state, but nationally. As on the past five cycles of the NYTS, Macro International, a nationally recognized research organization, will conduct the NYTS.

As a symbol of appreciation for contributing their time and support and for being a significant partner in the 2009 NYTS effort, the CDC will provide each participating school with a monetary incentive. One option is to use these funds for prevention curriculum and educational materials. However, no restrictions will be placed on how schools can use these funds. Schools also will receive a copy of the published report on survey results and a variety of educational materials related to the health of young people.

Enclosed are a copy of the questionnaire, a sample parental permission form and survey fact sheet, letters of support, and a copy of the most recently published NYTS results report. Within one week, a representative from Macro International Inc., a nationally recognized survey research firm, will contact you to discuss participation in the survey. Data collection will be scheduled for February through April, 2009. If you have any immediate questions, please call Dr. Danice Eaton of my staff at (770) 488-6143. Your support for this survey will help assess and improve efforts to reduce priority health-risk behaviors among adolescents throughout our Nation.

Sincerely yours,

Howell Wechsler, Ed. D., M.P.H.

Director

Division of Adolescent and School Health

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Enclosures