School-level Recruitment Script for the National Youth Tobacco Survey Supplemental Document

I3. School-level Recruitment Script for the National Youth Tobacco Survey Supplemental Documents

I3a. School Letter of Invitation and NYTS Fact Sheet for Schools

I3b. Letter to Agreeing Schools

I3a. School Letter of Invitation and NYTS Fact Sheet for Schools

SCHOOL LETTER OF INVITATION

{DATE}

{FIELD}1

Dear {FIELD}2 :

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your school is 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).

The Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) was developed by the states, with technical assistance and facilitation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 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 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 will be conducted biennially in odd-numbered spring semesters (e.g., 2009) 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 selected grades (or age equivalents) and the estimated number of student participants are as follows:

Grade (# of students)

06( ) 07( ) 08( ) 09( ) 10( ) 11( ) 12( )

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 your time and support and for being a significant partner in the 2009 NYTS effort, the CDC will provide your 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 most recently published NYTS results and a variety of educational materials related to the health of young people.

In parallel to the national survey, the NTYS questionnaire is used independently by many state and local departments of education and health to conduct their own surveys. Results from the national NTYS serve as an index against which results from state- and local-level surveys can be compared.

Enclosed are a copy of the NYTS Fact Sheet for Schools, a questionnaire, a sample parental permission form and survey fact sheet, letters of support, and a copy of the most recent 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

FACT SHEET FOR SCHOOLS

2009 NATIONAL YOUTH TOBACCO SURVEY (NYTS)

Tobacco use is the leading and most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is conducting the sixth National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) among students in grades 6 through 12 during the spring semester of 2009. This survey is designed to document tobacco-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, and exposure to influences that promote or discourage tobacco use. The NYTS is the most comprehensive source of nationally representative data regarding youth and tobacco. Furthermore, the NYTS is the only nationally representative source of data for middle school students in the United States. This Fact Sheet presents answers to the most commonly asked questions about the NYTS.

Q. What is the purpose of the NYTS?

A. The purpose of the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) is to gather nationally representative data for students in grades 6 through 12 for the following tobacco related topics: prevalence of use (cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipe, bidis, and kreteks), knowledge and attitudes, media and advertising, minor’s access and enforcement, school curriculum, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure, and cessation.

Q. How frequently is the NYTS conducted?

A. The baseline NYTS was conducted in 1999, with the initial progress measurements occurring in the spring of 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. The NYTS 2009 represents the sixth progress measurement.

Q. What is the relationship between the 2009 NYTS and similar state surveys?

A. Many state education and health agencies use a similar questionnaire to conduct their own Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS). The NYTS design was based on experience in 1998/1999 with a Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) developed through a coordinated effort among several states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The YTS was first administered in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas in 1998; now, nearly all states have conducted their own YTS at least once. Many states will conduct a YTS during the Spring 2009 in parallel with the 2009 NYTS.

Q. Why can’t the YTSs conducted by states be used to arrive at national estimates?

A. During the current school year, the majority of states (but not all) will be conducting a YTS. However, methodological differences across studies in sampling and data collection procedures prevent combining their data to arrive at national estimates.

Q. Can states conducting their own YTS obtain a waiver from the national survey?

A. No. This action would jeopardize the selection of a nationally representative sample of all students in grades 6 through 12. Every state, school district, school, and student in grades 6 through 12 nationwide must have a chance to be selected as a survey participant to avoid biasing the results. The burden for a state participating in the NYTS is low because of the small number of schools and students selected to participate in each state.

17. Are schools ever surveyed twice as part of their state YTS and the NYTS?

A. Every effort is made to avoid asking a school to participate in the state and national YTS in the same school year. The CDC works collaboratively with each state to identify schools selected for both state and national surveys. Normally, agreement is reached that either the national or the state survey will be administered in the school. In some instances, there will be one administration involving both questionnaires, but different students.

Q. What national organizations support the NYTS?

A. The following national organizations have indicated their support for the current cycle of the NYTS: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Health Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Legacy Foundation, American Lung Association, American Medical Association, American Nurses Foundation, American Public Health Association, American School Health Association, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Association of Local Boards of Health, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association Health Information Network, National Medical Association, National Middle School Association, National PTA, National School Boards Association, Partnership for Prevention, Student National Medical Association, Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

Q. What is the sample size and how are schools selected?

A. A stratified, random sample of 200 schools has been selected to participate in the 2009 NYTS. The probability of a school being selected is based on enrollment in grades 6 through 12. One or two classes (about 25 to 50 students) from each grade 6 through 12 will be picked randomly to take part in each school. If a selected school has fewer than 350 students in grades 6 through 12, then all of them are eligible to participate in the survey.

Q. What grades are included? What types of schools are included in the sample?

A. The 2009 NYTS will be administered to students in grades 6 through 12. This includes students from public, Catholic, and private schools with one or more grades in this range.

Q. How is the 2009 NYTS coordinated at each school?

A. It is preferable to have a single spokesperson in each school. This can be the principal, another administrator, a teacher, or someone else designated by the principal. The spokesperson provides a list of classes, distributes parental permission forms to teachers of the sampled classes, follows up to ensure permission forms have been distributed to students, helps to promote the survey in the school, and ensures a high participation rate.

Q. What role do school staff play?

A. Teachers are asked to assist with attendance and distribution and return of parental permission forms. Teachers generally are not asked to administer the survey except for make-ups with students absent during the initial administration.

Q. Are sensitive questions asked?

A. No. All questions on the survey relate to student’s attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge about tobacco use, intent to use, exposure to tobacco use, and exposure to tobacco marketing/ advertising.

Q. How are data collected? By whom?

A. Data are collected using a paper-and-pencil survey. Specially trained field staff collects data in each of the selected schools.

Q. How long does it take to fill out the questionnaire?

A. One class period is needed for administration of the self-administered questionnaire. It takes approximately 10 minutes for the survey administrator to distribute survey materials and read directions to the students. It then takes approximately 35 minutes for students to record their responses. The questionnaire contains approximately 97 multiple-choice questions.

Q. When is the survey conducted? When are results available?

A. Data collection will occur during February through May. Results will be published as soon as they are available. All participating States, school districts, and schools will receive a copy of the results.

Q. Is student participation anonymous? How is student privacy protected?

A. Survey administration procedures are designed to protect student privacy and allow for anonymous participation. The survey is administered by specially trained field staff. Teachers are not involved directly in survey administration, but remain outside the classroom when the survey is administered, except when required by law or prevailing local practice to be present. Students submit a completed optically scannable questionnaire booklet, containing no personal identifiers, in a sealed envelope which is then placed in a large box or large envelope. Similar safeguards are used to complete make-ups. Students not participating in the survey are provided with an alternative activity by their school. Published reports do not include names of participating counties, cities, school districts, schools, or students.

Q. Do students answer questions truthfully?

A. Research indicates data of this nature may be gathered as reliably from adolescents as from adults. Internal reliability checks help identify the small percentage of students who falsify their answers. To obtain truthful answers, students must perceive the survey as important and know procedures have been developed to protect their privacy and allow for anonymous participation.

Q. Are students tracked over time to see how their behavior changes?

A. No. Students who participated cannot be tracked because no identifying information is collected.

Q. What is done to maximize student participation?

A. Information is provided to school administrators, teachers, and parents explaining the importance of the NYTS. It is helpful if the school’s spokesperson for the 2009 NYTS is familiar with the survey and is willing to seek support from teachers, parents, and students. The school spokesperson may work through the school’s PTA to gain support for the survey. Many schools also notify parents of the survey in the school newsletter or via telephone tree and encourage student participation.

Q. Is this voluntary? What if school districts, schools, or students choose not to participate?

A. Participation in the NYTS is voluntary. However, to develop accurate national estimates, it is essential that school and student participation rates are high. Selected schools and students cannot be replaced. The goal is to achieve 90 to 95 percent participation by selected schools and students. On the five prior cycles of the NYTS, an average of 88 percent of schools and 92 percent of students participated.

Q. What do the schools receive for participating in the 2006 NYTS?

A. As a symbol of appreciation for contributing their time and support and for being a significant partner in the 2009 NYTS effort, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made available to the participating schools some special funding. 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.

Q. Who is the survey contractor for 2006 NYTS?

A. As on the last five cycles of the NYTS, CDC will be working with Macro International Inc., a nationally recognized survey research firm in Calverton, Maryland.

Q. Who can I call to obtain additional information and/or make arrangements for data collection in my school?

A. To obtain additional information and/or arrange for the NYTS to be conducted in your school, call the 2009 NYTS information line toll free: (877) 342-NYTS (6987). Someone will be available to help make arrangements for your school between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. If no one is available, please leave a message and someone will call you back promptly.

I3b. Letter to Agreeing Schools

2009 National Youth Tobacco Survey

Dear Principal/School Contact:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent and School Health. We appreciate your school’s graciousness in hosting the 2009 NYTS. The survey is designed to collect comprehensive data on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of middle and high school students (grades 6-12) with respect to tobacco use, intent to use, exposure to tobacco use, and exposure to tobacco marketing/advertising. When published, your school will receive a copy of the national results.

Enclosed are the packets of materials for each participating teacher (whose names are listed on the enclosed Summary of School Arrangements Form). These packets contain: the Summary of School Arrangements Form, a sample survey booklet, instructions to be read when distributing permission forms, parental permission forms and survey fact sheets, reminder forms, and a Data Collection Checklist. If requested, parental permission forms and reminders are provided in Spanish. We do not need to receive the completed parental permission forms. These remain at the school and, following the completion of the survey in your school, are to be discarded according to your school’s parental permission form policies and procedures.

We request that each teacher complete a Data Collection Checklist for his or her class. Names or ID’s of all students in each selected class should be listed on this checklist, not just those participating in the survey. Names will be kept confidential and destroyed after the completion of data collection. The names are needed to take roll, make sure students not in the selected class do not “slip in”, identify students eligible to complete the survey (i.e., returned parental permission form with “yes” response), develop make-up lists of eligible students who are absent, and determine the gender and grade of all nonparticipants.

Your support and encouragement will help to ensure a high rate of participation among your students. A high participation rate is needed to produce valid national data. We ask that you:

1. Distribute the packets to each participating teacher. Ask them to distribute the parental permission forms at least 7 days before survey administration and to encourage their students to return the forms.

2. Please check with teachers a few days prior to the survey administration to make sure parental permission forms have been distributed and student participation encouraged.

3. Identify someone within the school to whom participating teachers may refer students, in the unlikely event the survey raises questions about health risk behaviors. This person may be a guidance counselor, school nurse, or other person. Let the teachers know who this is, prior to the survey.

The participation of your students in the NYTS will help the CDC, educators, and public health officials assess and improve efforts to reduce tobacco use among adolescents throughout the Nation. If you have any questions, please call me toll-free at 800-675-9727 between 9 a.m and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Thank you again for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kate Flint, Project Director

National Youth Tobacco Survey