EnRICH Webinar, The National Survey of Children’s Health: New Data, Opportunities, and Directions

 Tuesday, December 5, 2023 1:00pm to 2:00pm ET             

Problem statement:  Measuring and tracking key indicators of health and well-being among children is critical to ensuring the nation is prepared to meet their health and developmental needs as well as to ensure the long-term health of the country. The National Survey of Children’s Health is the largest national survey of children in the US, providing point in time as well as trend estimates on a wide range of indicators related to health status and health services needs of U.S. children, and the family and community factors that can impact those needs. In 2022, the National Survey of Children’s Health finalized content for “Healthy and Ready to Learn” — the first standardized, multidimensional population level measure of school readiness among children ages 3-5 in the US. This measure, in concert with additional content newly added or under development and the implementation of state oversamples allows the NSCH to remain on the cutting edge of children’s health surveillance and research.

Upon completing the webinar, participants should be able to:

1. Describe basic characteristics of the design and content of the National Survey of Children’s Health and how those characteristics impact the ability to address questions of interest related to children’s health and well-being.
2. Report on 1-3 key estimates or findings from the National Survey of Children’s Health specifically related to the new measure for Healthy and Ready to Learn.
3. Describe, in basic terms, 1-2 innovations being implemented or tested for implementation as part of the National Survey of Children’s Health.

Dr. Reem M. Ghandour is Director of the Division of Epidemiology within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Office of Epidemiology and Research. Reem oversees a range of programmatic investments designed to extend and enhance data, analytic, performance measurement and evaluation capacity at both the state and national levels. In this capacity, she has directed the National Survey of Children’s Health since 2013. She holds a DrPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. In 2021 she received the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for Science and Environment for her work to transform the National Survey of Children’s Health.

Dr. Ashley H. Hirai is a Senior Scientist within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Office of Epidemiology and Research, Division of Epidemiology. She serves as a Bureau expert in perinatal epidemiology, GIS, and advanced research methods to inform, monitor, and evaluate various programs and initiatives, which have included the Title V MCH State Block Grant Program, Healthy Start, and infant mortality initiatives. She also leads the state oversampling option for the National Survey of Children’s Health, supports MCH epi training initiatives, and conducts applied research focusing on perinatal trends and disparities. Ashley holds a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with dual training in demography and perinatal epidemiology.

Dr. Jessica R. Jones is the Team Lead and Assistant Survey Director of the National Survey of Children’s Health within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Office of Epidemiology and Research, Division of Epidemiology. In this capacity, Dr. Jones oversees the development and selection of survey content, annual experiments to improve data collection, and partnership agreements with survey co-sponsors. Her research interests include the adequacy of children’s health insurance coverage and the successful implementation of innovative, web-based household surveys. Dr. Jones received her PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an MPH from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

For more information and to register, click here.