Recruitment of States

H. District Recruitment Script

Form Approved

OMB No.: 0920-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xx

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTACTS

NATIONAL YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND NUTRITION SURVEY

PRIOR TO CALLING, VERIFY THE DATE LETTER WAS SENT AND HAVE THE LETTER AND DISTRICTS FILE FOLDER READY TO DOCUMENT THE OUTCOME OF EACH CALL. ALSO HAVE COPY OF STATE SUPPORT LETTER AND FILE FOLDER CONTAINING NAMES OF CONTACT PERSONS.

1. Hello this is [YOUR NAME]. I’m calling to follow up on a letter from the CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) notifying you that (NAMES(S) OF SCHOOL(S) will soon be invited to participate in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey sponsored by CDC. Do you have 15 or 20 minutes to talk with me right now?: [IF NOT] When would you like me to call you back or would you prefer to make an appointment?

2. A Federal Express packet about this went to [YOU/NAME OF PERSON TO BE CONTACTED] on [DATE]. The letter was signed by Dr. Howell Wechsler at CDC. Inside the packets were a letter, a Fact Sheet, a copy of the questionnaire, and manila envelopes addressed to the principals of each of the selected schools in your district. Do you recall getting this packet?

3. You also should have received a [LETTER] OR [PHONE CALL] from [NAME OF OFFICIAL] at the State Department of Education/Department of Health. This letter was enclosed with the letter of invitation from Dr. Howell Wechsler at CDC.

4. Were you contacted [BY PHONE; LETTER] by [STATE OFFICIAL]?

5. Have you had a chance to review the packet of materials about the project?

6. My basic reason for calling now is to make sure that you received the packet, to answer any questions that you may have, and to see what will be involved in getting approval from the school district to invite the selected schools to participate in the survey. Are you the person at your district who handles these requests? Is there someone else I should be speaking with?

7. (PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT.) The study is driven by nationwide concerns about the obesity epidemic among Americans, and especially among America’s youth. The survey will help us understand what key physical activity and nutrition behaviors might be contributing to adolescent obesity and putting students at greater risk for ill health into adulthood. The study will also look at the associations between student Body Mass Index and a variety of behaviors. Study results will have significant implications for policy and program development for obesity prevention and physical activity programs nationwide.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333, ATTN: PRA(0920-XXXX).

The main component of the study involves the random selection of one class in each of grades 9 through 12 (or about 100 students total) as members of intact classrooms to participate from each school. The survey will be administered by specially-trained field staff during one class period, and will take approximately 45 minutes for the students to record their responses to 120 multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire was developed by expert panels in physical activity and dietary measurement, with technical assistance by CDC. Students who take the survey also will be measured for height and weight.

That is the main component of the study. If schools are willing to participate in the main study, we will ask if they’d like to volunteer for another portion of the study that will take place outside of school. We will only approach schools about this part if they are willing to do the school survey. This out-of-school component involves having students in one class per school complete telephone interviews about their dietary intake. Again, schools can agree to participate in the physical activity and nutrition in-school survey, but say they do not want to participate in the out-of-school component.

School districts and schools were selected randomly for this survey. Participation in the survey is completely voluntary. However, it is very important that we achieve a high participation rate for the survey results to be valid. Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the entire survey process. No results will be reported by student name, class, school, school district, city, or state.

We will be asking schools to assist our field staff in coordinating our visit and teachers to send home the parental permission forms, keep track of them when they are returned, and send out reminders when necessary.

Participating schools will receive $200.

8. Do you have any questions that I can answer for you? Are there any issues you would like to discuss?

9. Are there any special clearance procedures with which our research request must comply? IF YES: Please send me any necessary forms so that we can return them as quickly as possible. Do you see any problem in obtaining the district’s endorsement of the survey? (IF SO:) We expect that some districts will not choose to endorse the survey. In such cases, CDC is asking that the district allow each school to make up its own mind whether to participate. Can we obtain a letter indicating the district’s support or approval?

[RESOLVE APPROVAL ISSUES.]

10. Your support of the survey is important to obtaining the cooperation of the schools. We’d like to have your permission to approach schools about participating in both the in-school survey and the out-of-school component. As I mentioned earlier, a school can do the in-school survey and not participate in the out-of-school component. If they are not willing to do the school survey, we will not ask them about participating in the out-of-school component.

Since we would like to contact the schools as quickly as possible to inform them about the survey, we’d like to request that your office forward the manila envelopes to each of the school with a note on the outside of the packet indicating your [approval of the study OR willingness to permit schools to consider participating.] Can you do this?

With your approval, we will contact the school(s) and inform them that “we spoke to District Superintendent [NAME] on [DATE]. (He/she) has given (his/her) approval for our contacting you today.” Or, would you prefer to call, write, or email each school principal yourself before we contact them? (IF SO:) Could you give me an idea when you expect to make the contacts? I’d like to confirm with you that you’ve made contact before we proceed. (IF CONTACT WILL BE BY LETTER:) Could you send me a copy of the letter? (IF CONTACT WILL BE BY EMAIL:) Could you copy me on your email to the principals? My email address is [ADDRESS].

I would just like to confirm that we have your permission, if schools agree to participate in the school survey, to ask if they are willing to volunteer for the out-of-school component. Is that correct? (IF NO:) That is fine. We will only speak with them about participating in the in-school survey. (IF YES:) Thank you.

11. IF DISTRICT DENIES PERMISSION TO CONTACT: RECORD ALL REASONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES CONCERNING DENIAL. Thank you very much for the time you’ve spent talking to me today. END CONVERSATION ON POSITIVE NOTE, ALLOWING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE CONTACT ON THIS ISSUE.

12. (IN RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES ABOUT TIMING:) We do not know the exact dates when we would be in your schools. Data collection nationally will start February and end in April. My guess is that we will try to be in your schools around [PROBABLE TIMING]. [IF APPROPRIATE:] If schools in your district volunteer to participate in the out-of-school component, that will start after we’ve visited them for the school survey and will conclude before the end of the school year.

13. To facilitate our contacts with the schools, we would ask that you help with certain information. Can you tell me when during that period from February to April will be holidays or other events that would prevent data collection on a given day?

14. When does school close for Spring/Easter and Summer vacations? Do seniors get out earlier than the other students?

15. Are there any other special circumstances or requirements we should be aware of for [NAME(S) OF SCHOOLS)]? By this I mean reorganizations, anticipated permanent or temporary school closings, new principals, or something like that? Any changes in the grades offered at these schools in the past year?

16. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation with us on this very important survey. Please feel free to call either Jim Ross or Alice Roberts at Macro if you have any questions. The number is (800) 675-9727. You may also contact Dr. Nancy Brener at CDC. Her number is (770) 488-6184.