Statistical Primer
A Publication of the State Center for Health Statistics
1908 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1908
(919) 733-4728 • www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS
No. 18 May 2010
The North Carolina Child Health Assessment and Monitoring Program:
Survey Methodology and Data Collection
by
Donna R. Miles, Ph.D.’
Harry Herrick, M.S.P.H., M.S.W., M.Ed.1
Carol A. Ford, M.D.2
Overview
This report describes the development and implementation
of the North Carolina Child Health Assessment and
Monitoring Program (NC CHAMP) annual survey,
conducted by the State Center for Health Statistics
(SCHS). NC CHAMP has collected health information on
children since 2005 and contributes to a seamless health
data system for all North Carolina citizens from birth to
old age. NC CHAMP provides data on health issues of
North Carolina children that can be used to monitor child
health status and identify priority areas at the state level
as well as assess relationships between parent health and
child health.
Eligible children (birth- 17 years) for the NC CHAMP
survey are drawn each month from the North Carolina
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (NC
BRFSS) land-line telephone survey of adults. One child
is randomly selected from the household, and the adult
most knowledgeable about the health of the selected child
is interviewed in a follow-up survey. Questions on the NC
CHAMP survey pertain to a wide variety of health-related
topics, including early childhood development, health
care access, oral health, mental health, physical health,
nutrition, physical activity, family involvement, and
parent opinion on topics such as childhood obesity. State
estimates of survey items reported by child’s sex, age,
race, ethnicity, and household income are posted on the
SCHS Web site on an annual basis. A public use data file
is generated that contains demographic information on the
selected child, substantive health and well-being data for
the child and his/her family, and sampling weights.
Introduction
The NC CHAMP was developed in the fall of 2004 and
has been conducted annually since January 2005. It is
the only comprehensive surveillance system in North
Carolina used to assess the health characteristics of
approximately 2.2 million children in North Carolina
between the ages 0 to 17. NC CHAMP provides a core
public health surveillance function in North Carolina, as it
supplies valid and reliable state-level statistical estimates
on the health issues of North Carolina children.
1 State Center for Health Statistics, Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC
2 Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Department of Maternal and Child
Health, Gill ings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
no department
of health and
human services
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Public Health
flW)
North Carolina
Public Health
