Questions and Answers Brochure

NSFG

OMB ATTACHMENT G4

Note: All photos are in draft mode.

WHERE DO I GET MORE INFORMATION?
For more information about the NSFG:
• Ask your interviewer if one comes to
your home
• Visit the survey’s website at
www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm

DO I HAVE TO ANSWER THE
QUESTIONS?
Your participation in this study is voluntary. Saying yes
or no to taking part in the study will not change any
benefits you get now or in the future.
Many people find the NSFG survey interesting and
enjoyable. Your participation is very important because
each person who participates represents thousands of
others across the country. Some of the questions may be
sensitive for some people. You may choose not to answer
any question for any reason and may stop your
participation at any time.

WILL AN INTERVIEWER COME TO MY
HOME?
NCHS has contracted with RTI to carry out the NSFG
data collection. Based on a short screening interview that
can be completed by any adult living in your home, you
or someone in your home may be selected to complete
the main NSFG survey [FILL AFTER DATA
COLLECTION SWITCHES TO ALL MULTI-MODE:
either online or in person]. A professional interviewer
from RTI may come to your home to find out if you are
eligible for the study. If an interviewer comes to your
home, she will have an RTI identification badge with her
picture on it and a Letter of Authorization from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. She will ask
you the survey questions in a private setting in your
home and type your answers into a tablet computer.

• Call Dr. Anjani Chandra or Dr. Gladys
Martinez, senior NSFG staff at NCHS
(toll-free): 1-866-227-8347
For information about your rights as a
survey participant:
• Call the NCHS Ethics Review Board
(toll-free): 1-800-223-8118
To schedule an in-person interview:
• Call RTI [CONTACT INFORMATION]

A study for the National Center
for Health Statistics conducted
by RTI International

OMB No. 0920-0314

NATIONAL SURVEY
OF FAMILY GROWTH
Questions and Answers

NSFG

OMB ATTACHMENT G4

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF
FAMILY GROWTH?
The National Survey of Family
Growth (NSFG) collects
information on pregnancies,
marriages and other relationships,
use of contraception, and women’s
and men’s health. The survey
results are used to help understand
health and health behaviors in the
United States, plan health services
and health education programs,
and do statistical research on
fertility, families, and health.

WHO IS DOING THE
NATIONAL SURVEY OF
FAMILY GROWTH?
The National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS), which is part
of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services, sponsors and designs
the NSFG survey. NCHS has conducted the NSFG since
1973. The survey is authorized by a federal law, Section
306(b)1(H) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
242k), which asks NCHS to collect “statistics on family
formation, growth, and dissolution.” NCHS has contracted
with RTI International (RTI), a nonprofit research
organization, to manage the data collection for the NSFG.
NSFG is one of many important surveys conducted
by NCHS. You can find out more about NCHS at
www.cdc.gov/nchs.

The survey provides national data
on critical issues like:
» Decisions people make about whether or when to have
children
» How long marriages and other relationships last
» Family planning services received by women and men
» Risk for sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV
» Difficulties people may experience in having children
and their use of infertility services
» Preventive health services received by women and men

HOW WAS I CHOSEN?
Your household was chosen, not you personally. We do not
know who lives in your household or what your name is.
We scientifically select households to contact. It would
cost too much and take too long for us to talk to
everyone in the country. We contact each selected
household to find out if anyone who lives there is eligible
for the study. We then choose one eligible person from
contacted households to complete the NSFG survey.
Choosing households scientifically and then surveying one
individual within the household lets us use the survey
information to better understand the entire population.
Once households have been chosen and once individuals
within the household have been invited to participate, they
cannot be replaced.

WHY SHOULD I PARTICIPATE?
Your participation is important because your answers not
only represent you and your household, but thousands
of other similar individuals and households across the
United States. Because we scientifically select households
to contact, no one else can take your place. The
information you provide in this survey will help us better
understand the fertility and overall health status of women
and men in the Unied States.

OMB No. 0920-0314
ARE THESE QUESTIONS JUST FOR
FAMILIES, OR PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN?
No. If you do not have children, or if you live alone, your
responses are just as important to the study as anyone
else’s. You will only be asked questions that apply to you.
There are many topics in the NSFG that do not depend on
having a spouse or children, such as experience with health
care services or contraceptive use. The NSFG needs to
include the experiences of ALL eligible people so that the
survey’s findings will more accurately reflect and represent
the entire country.

WILL MY ANSWERS BE KEPT
PRIVATE?
Yes. Strict laws prevent NCHS and RTI from releasing
information that could identify you or your family to
anyone else. A number of federal laws require that all
information we collect be held in strict confidence:
• Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 242m(d)),
• the Confidential Information Protection and
Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA, Title III of Public
Law 115-435), and
• the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a.
Every NCHS employee, contractor, research partner, and
agent has taken an oath to keep your information private.
Any NCHS employee, agent, or contractor who willfully
discloses ANY identifiable information could get a jail term
of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. In
addition, transmissions across the internet into Federal
information systems may be monitored for cybersecurity
purposes in accordance with the Cybersecurity
Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §§ 151 and 151 note).

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
The NSFG survey takes about 50-75 minutes for most
adults. For teenagers it takes about 45 minutes. For your
help in this study, you will receive $40 as a token of
appreciation.