National Survey of Children's Health

The National Survey of Children's Health is designed to track the physical and emotional well being of children up to age 17. The survey is broken down into several topic categories which helps to identify trends in children's behavior. Some of these categories include parental health, family interactions, school interactions, after school activities, and the safety factor in neighborhoods. 

In addition, the survey also targets children from uninsured households which involves seeing how being “uninsured” affects the child's emotional and physical health.

 

As a result of the unstable economic conditions over the past several years, thousands of children across the country unfortunately have experienced some physical and emotional problems. For some, this has included having to move to a new neighborhood and having to adjust to new surroundings. While moving to a new neighborhood might not be a big deal for most adults, it can be an unsettling experience for a child. This is because they may have established strong attachments to other children in their old neighborhood and may not feel confident that they will be able to make new friends again. This type of situation can cause potential emotional issues that can affect a child's behavior at home and also their performance at school.

Family interactions also play a key role in a child's development and behavior. If the interactions are mainly positive, then it increases the chance that the child will do well in school and in other outside activities. On the other, if family interactions involve a lot of shouting and anger, then it will have a negative impact on the child's development and behavior. It is very important to identify any potential emotional issues early in a child's life, because they will be much easier to treat and correct.

The physical condition of a child also has a significant impace on their emotional and mental health. It is has been proven that children that are not healthy will not do very in school. This is also another issue that needs to be addressed and treated before the child becomes an adult.

SUMMARY

The most recent National Survey of Children's Health was conducted between February 2011 and June 2012 and over 95,000 child-level interviews were conducted. The survey consisted of survey samples from all 50 states – which included the US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

The National Survey of Children's Health receives funding from several sources. This includes the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Department of Health and Human Services.

To learn more about how the survey is conducted, go to www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/nsch.htm.