Recorded presentation

Beth Canfield, PhD, MPH, National Center for Health Statistics, Room 3104, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4275, boc7@cdc.gov

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) does not currently capture detailed information about children’s mental health or special educational services; the Questionnaire Design and Research Laboratory at the National Center for Health Statistics pre-tested some proposed questions to be added to the NHIS to capture data on services used by children with mental health and learning issues; these data are needed urgently by policy and program planners to obtain baseline estimates and needs assessment information.

Cognitive interviewing is a frequently used method to pre-test survey questions prior to national use. These interviews provide very useful information about how potential respondents hear a question, understand the question, and respond to the question. The goal of qualitative research in this context is not to generalize findings to an entire population but to gain greater understanding of survey questions. The primary objective of the cognitive interviews was to identify potential errors that could affect the accuracy of responses. Research results were based on 17 interviews with parents whose children had mental retardation, other developmental delays, learning disabilities, and/or problems with emotions, concentration, social interaction, or behavior.

When soliciting survey information about children’s diagnoses and service use, parents’ responses included many inconsistencies and response errors. Educational terms such as learning disabilities and medical terms like mental retardation needed further clarification, as did vague concepts like treatment. Parents also inconsistently classified their children’s services, like being in a special classroom. Examples and recommended changes to these questions based upon the findings will be presented.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the benefits of pre-testing survey questions.
• List 5 vague and problematic terms commonly used in surveys about children's health services.
• Discuss inconsistencies between researcher-oriented concepts and parental understanding of those concepts.

Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Child/Adolescent Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: National Center for Health Statistics
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I have a fellowship at NCHS.

Recorded presentation