Frequently Asked Questions

Potential SLAITS Respondents

• How is confidentiality maintained?
• How can respondents be assured that this is a legitimate survey?
• Where are interviewers calling from?
• How are telephone numbers, including unlisted numbers, selected?
• Will names of participants be used?
• Why are questions about race, ethnicity, and income asked?
• Can questionnaires be mailed instead of administered on the telephone?
• Who do I contact regarding the content of the survey?
• Who do I contact if I have questions about my rights as a research participant?

 

How is confidentiality maintained?
CDC and its contractors are required by law, under authority of the Public Health Service Act, to protect confidentiality. In addition, all interviewers and project staff members sign an agreement of nondisclosure prior to the onset of a study. Names will be removed from all data prior to the analysis and reporting of results. Data are reported in summary statistical format only.  Special precautions are taken to ensure data records cannot be linked to an individual or household.

How can respondents be assured that this is a legitimate survey?
Respondents may call our toll-free number at 1-866-999-3340 to verify the legitimacy of our survey or to find out more information. They may also call the Office of the Institutional Review Board at the National Center for Health Statistics, at 1-800-223-8118, and leave a brief message with their name and telephone number.  Your call will be returned as soon as possible.  Alternatively, respondents can call Marcie Cynamon, the SLAITS Project Director, at 301-458-4174.

Where are interviewers calling from?
Interviewers are calling from one of the contractor’s telephone survey centers. The contractor is NORC - a reputable and established survey research agency that works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Telephone centers are located in Chicago, Illinois; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

How are telephone numbers, including unlisted numbers, selected?
A computer randomly generates and selects telephone numbers that are called for this survey. No person or organization (including the phone company) provides the study with any telephone numbers. Because they are randomly generated, telephone numbers selected may be unlisted in telephone directories. All unlisted telephone numbers remain unlisted.

Will names of participants be used?
Absolutely not. Confidentiality is assured for all surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All data will be collapsed into categories, for example, the number of children of a certain race that have a certain type of health insurance. No identifying information will be included in any publicly released data file, data report, publication or presentation.

Why are questions about race, ethnicity, and income asked?
Race, ethnicity, and income variables are important in analyzing the information we collect. For example, this information helps us learn whether children in one group use health services more or less often than those in another group, and how we can improve the health care system. Race, ethnicity, and income data are kept private and are not linked with any identifying information.

Can questionnaires be mailed instead of administered on the telephone?
The design of the questionnaire and the nature of the questions require a professional interviewer to administer and record the information. Interviewers enter respondents’ answers directly into a secure computer.

Who do I contact regarding the content of the survey?

You may contact:

Marcie Cynamon 
National Center for Health Statistics
Division of Health Interview Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 2113
Hyattsville, MD 20782

Phone: 301-458-4174
Fax: 301-458-4035
Email:  mcynamon@cdc.gov

Who do I contact if I have questions about my rights as a research participant?
You may contact the Office of the Institutional Review Board at the National Center for Health Statistics, 1-800-223-8118, and leave a brief message with your name and telephone number.  Your call will be returned as soon as possible.