Att 6b_Survey Cover Letter (E-mail)

D ear «FirstName» «LastName»:

Recently one of our staff contacted your hospital about the 2018 CDC National Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC). You were identified as the person most knowledgeable about these practices at your hospital.

We invite you now to complete the mPINC survey. Your participation is completely voluntary; it takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey is conducted from a "secure" https (SSL) server using the same type of internet security as is used for handling credit card transactions. Every precaution has been made to reduce the risk that unauthorized users could view your hospital’s answers. The link provided here is unique to your hospital, it is intended only for the following hospital and location.

Hospital Name: <facility name>

Address: <address>

<city, state, zip>

Click here to go to the mPINC Survey

If you are unable to use the link, please go to [insert website here] and enter your unique username: <username> and password: <password>

About the mPINC Survey

The mPINC survey asks about day-to-day practices in mother-baby care at your hospital, and focuses on infant nutrition care including breastfeeding, use of formula by healthy newborns, and feeding routines. Since you are completing the survey on behalf of your hospital, you may find that the experience or knowledge of other staff within your hospital may be needed to answer some of the survey questions. As you complete the mPINC survey, please feel free to seek input from these colleagues.

This research study is being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess infant feeding practices at maternity care hospitals in the United States and Territories. It was first administered in 2007 and has been administered every two years, allowing the monitoring of infant feeding practices trends over time. All hospitals in the United States and Territories identified as providing maternity care are being asked to participate in the survey, whether or not they participated in the previous surveys. We are using the current American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey Database to identify these hospitals.

Once data collection and analysis are complete, we will send you an individualized report that will enable you to compare your hospital with other similar hospitals on indicators of infant feeding practices and policies. In addition, anonymous results from all hospitals will be summarized overall and for each state.

Confidentiality

Your responses will be treated in a confidential manner. Your responses will be kept private to the extent allowed by law. Your name, hospital name, and any other personal identifiers will not appear when we present in oral or written presentation of study results. Access to documents and electronic files is restricted to the research staff working on the study. Providing your name, position, and official hospital email address is voluntary and will be used to send an electronic version of your hospital’s results; results will be mailed if you do not provide an email address.

If you have any questions regarding this study, please call Robyn Sagatov, PhD, MHS, RD, Task Leader, Battelle, toll free at 1-866-826-4176. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a study subject, please contact the Battelle Institutional Review Board, at 1-877-810-9530, ext. 500.

The web survey will close at 11:59 PM on [insert date DD/MM/YYYY]. Please note, if you do not submit your survey responses by the deadline, your hospital’s information will not be included in the mPINC analysis and your hospital will not receive a benchmark report.

Thank you in advance for your time and participation in this important research endeavor.

Sincerely,

Rafael C. Flores-Ayala, DrPH, MApStat

Chief, Nutrition Branch

Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention