Letter of Invitation to Schools for the Validation Study

High School Student Dietary Behavior Validation Study

Attachment Q6

Letter of Invitation to Schools for the Validation Study

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta GA 30341-3724

D EPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

{DATE}

{Principal FIRST.NAME LAST.NAME}

{SCHOOL NAME}

{ADDRESS}

{CITY, ST ZIP}

Dear Principal {LAST.NAME}:

I am writing to inform you that your school is among the 10 schools selected across the United States to participate in the High School Student Dietary Behavior Validation Study, sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The High School Student Dietary Behavior Validation Study consists of a survey and an interview of students in grades 9 through 12 in order to assesses the most effective formulations of questions related to high school students’ fruit, vegetable, and energy drink intake for the 2027 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The YRBS is a survey of students in grades 9 through 12 that assesses priority health-risk behaviors, including: (1) behaviors that result in unintentional injuries and violence, (2) tobacco use, (3) alcohol and other drug use, (4) sexual behaviors that contribute to HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies, (5) unhealthy dietary behaviors, and (6) physical inactivity. The YRBS was designed in cooperation with federal agencies and numerous state and local departments of education and health. It is conducted biennially in odd-numbered years.

CDC respects the educational mission of schools. For that reason, only a small number of classes in each school, one at each selected grade level, are chosen randomly to participate. The selected grades at your school and the number of classes are as follows:

Grade(s) (# of Classes)

Data collection will occur during {MONTH} through {MONTH} {YEAR}. Questionnaires will be administered by specially trained field staff during one normal class period. Interviews will be conducted by specially trained field staff individually throughout the day and will each take about 30 minutes to complete. Survey and interview administration procedures are designed to protect student privacy and allow for anonymous participation. States, counties, cities, school districts, schools, and students will not be identified in any published reports.

As a symbol of appreciation for contributing their time and support, the CDC will provide each participating school with a monetary award. 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.

Your support for this survey will help demonstrate how closely survey responses represent participants’ dietary behaviors, fostering greater confidence among those responsible for fielding YRBS surveys and researchers and practitioners who use these data in their work.

The YRBS has become the primary source of information on the most important health-risk behaviors of high school students in this country and is increasingly used by leading educators, public health officials, the media, and others to advocate for and improve school health policies and programs. In parallel to the national survey, the YRBS questionnaire is used independently by many state and local departments of education and health to conduct their own surveys. Results from the national survey serve as an index against which state- and local-level data can be compared and are used by states to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective prevention and control programs.

Enclosed are copies of the High School Student Dietary Behavior Validation Study questionnaire, sample parental permission forms, a fact sheet, and letters of support from national health and education organizations. Within one week, a representative from Deloitte, a nationally recognized professional services firm contracted by CDC to conduct the High School Student Dietary Behavior Validation Study, will contact you to confirm your receipt of this information and answer any questions you may have. If you have any immediate questions, please call (INSERT CONTACT) of Deloitte at (CONTACT NUMBER).

Your support for this study, which will potentially reduce of the number of questions used to assess fruit and vegetable intake without compromising data validity, is appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Kathleen A. Ethier, Ph.D.

Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Enclosures

cc: Nancy Brener, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention