Survey Results

Survey Items: Survey instrument item number for children 0-5 years: C8 (2018), C9 (2019)
Variable in public use data file: K6Q12, K6Q13A, K6Q13B, K6Q14A, K6Q14B

Denominator: Children age 9-35 months who had a visit in the past 12 months

Numerator: Parent completed developmental screening; Parent did not complete developmental screening

Revisions and Changes: There have been no substantive changes to this measure since 2016.

Additional Notes: The AAP recommends that all children should be screened for developmental delays during their regular well-check visits at 9, 18, and 24 or 30 months. This measure uses age-appropriate questions to verify whether young children received standardized developmental, behavioral and social screening using a parent-reported, standardized screening tool or instrument. Parent respondents for all children between 9 months and 5 years old were asked the following question: "During the past 12 months, did a doctor or other health care provider have you or another caregiver fill out a questionnaire about specific concerns or observations you may have about this child’s development, communication, or social behaviors?" (K6Q12). If the response to K6Q12 was “Yes”, parents were asked if the questionnaire covered language or social development (K6Q13 and K6Q13A, respectively, for ages 9-23 months, and K6Q14A and K6Q14B for ages 2-5 years). The measure is considered missing if both types of contents are missing.

Treatment of Unknown Values: Missing values may be due to non-response (i.e. a skipped item) or a “don’t know” response. The way these items are handled can vary by measure. For NPMs and NOMs, having missing values for all items in an indicator will lead to the case being given a missing value on the overall measure. For some other measures, if there is a missing value on any of the items, the case will be set to missing. How missing values are handled is documented in the "Additional notes" field above when required.
Missing values are not included in the denominator when calculating prevalence estimates and weighted population counts displayed in the Interactive Data Query results table. In the majority of cases, the proportion of missing values is less than 2%. Exceptions are noted in the form of a Data Alert at the bottom of a results table. The exclusion of these values does not change the prevalence estimates (%) and only marginally affects the weighted population counts (Pop. Est.). To learn about the impact of the missing values on the population count estimates, click here.

History and Development:
About NSCH
The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), funded and directed by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), is designed to provide annual national and state-level information on the health and well-being of children ages 0-17 years in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau administers the survey, oversees the sampling, and produces a final data set of survey results. HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) develops survey content in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and a Technical Expert Panel. The Technical Expert Panel consists of experts in survey methodology and children’s health, federal and state stakeholders, clinicians and researchers. In 2016, the NSCH underwent a significant redesign which combined content from both the NSCH and the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN). Further information on that redesign can be found in “The Design and Implementation of the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health”.
The NSCH is conducted as a household survey, and one child per household is selected to be the subject for the detailed age-specific questionnaire. The respondent to this questionnaire is a parent or guardian who is living in the home and has knowledge of the sampled child. Survey participants complete either web-based or self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Data from the NSCH is used for scientific research, federal policy and program development, and state-level planning and performance reporting. Information is collected on factors related to the health and well-being of children, including access to and utilization of health care, receipt of care in a medical home, systems of care for CSHCN, family interactions, parental health, school and after-school experiences, and neighborhood characteristics.
More information about the survey can be found in the “About the National Survey of Children’s Health” section of this website and HRSA’s MCHB website.