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Abstract Background The objective of the present study was to compare three different sampling and questionnaire administration methods used in the international KIDSCREEN study in terms of participation, response rates, and external validity. Methods Children and adolescents aged 8–18 years were surveyed in 13 European countries using either telephone sampling and mail administration, random sampling of school listings followed by classroom or mail administration, or multistage random sampling of communities and households with self-administration of the survey materials at home. Cooperation, completion, and response rates were compared across countries and survey methods. Data on non-respondents was collected in 8 countries. The population fraction (PF, respondents in each sex-age, or educational level category, divided by the population in the same category from Eurostat census data) and population fraction ratio (PFR, ratio of PF) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze differences by country between the KIDSCREEN samples and a reference Eurostat population. Results Response rates by country ranged from 18.9% to 91.2%. Response rates were highest in the school-based surveys (69.0%–91.2%). Sample proportions by age and gender were similar to the reference Eurostat population in most countries, although boys and adolescents were slightly underrepresented (PFR Conclusion School-based sampling achieved the highest overall response rates but also produced slightly more biased samples than the other methods. The results suggest that the samples were sufficiently representative to provide reference population values for the KIDSCREEN instrument.

Background: The objective of the present study was to compare three different sampling and questionnaire administration methods used in the international KIDSCREEN study in terms of participation, response rates, and external validity. Methods: Children and adolescents aged 8-18 years were surveyed in 13 European countries using either telephone sampling and mail administration, random sampling of school listings followed by classroom or mail administration, or multistage random sampling of communities and households with self-administration of the survey materials at home. Cooperation, completion, and response rates were compared across countries and survey methods. Data on non-respondents was collected in 8 countries. The population fraction (PF, respondents in each sex-age, or educational level category, divided by the population in the same category from Eurostat census data) and population fraction ratio (PFR, ratio of PF) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze differences by country between the KIDSCREEN samples and a reference Eurostat population. Results: Response rates by country ranged from 18.9% to 91.2%. Response rates were highest in the school-based surveys (69.0%-91.2%). Sample proportions by age and gender were similar to the reference Eurostat population in most countries, although boys and adolescents were slightly underrepresented (PFR <1). Parents in lower educational categories were less likely to participate (PFR <1 in 5 countries). Parents in higher educational categories were overrepresented when the school and household sampling strategies were used (PFR = 1.78-2.97). Conclusion: School-based sampling achieved the highest overall response rates but also produced slightly more biased samples than the other methods. The results suggest that the samples were sufficiently representative to provide reference population values for the KIDSCREEN instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of the Preventive Health Care Act in July 2015 was a key step in strengthening settings-based health promotion and disease prevention. This increases the importance of developing prevention reporting at the national level. In light of international experiences, we therefore propose a multi-step process, which formulates specific goals based on epidemiologically grounded public health needs, which should then be addressed through appropriate intervention strategies. The implementation status of activities needs to be continuously documented and their effectiveness evaluated., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

In November 2016, during a workshop organised by the Robert Koch Institute together with the Federal Centre for Health Education, we presented and discussed activities and models surrounding prevention reporting with health reporting representatives from the federal states. The motive for the event was the prevention report, which the National Prevention Conference will prepare every four years beginning in 2019 in order to document, monitor and evaluate its activities. The workshop revealed the desire of stakeholders to discuss survey methods and indicators and harmonise the different reporting systems in the long-term., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

Objectives: To assess whether gender and age differences can be found in different aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents, and to what extent these results correspond to theoretical and empirical findings from developmental psychology., Methods: A newly developed HRQOL questionnaire was completed by 3,710 youths aged nine to 17 years in seven European countries. The "Kidscreen 52" questionnaire consists of 10 scales operationalising aspects of the physical, psychological and social dimensions of HRQOL. With the use of ANOVA and effect sizes, the influence of age and gender on aspects of HRQOL is reported., Results: Children report a very good quality of life largely independent of gender. After 12 years, HRQOL decreases in the majority of aspects. In the physical and psychological dimensions, a stronger decrease is found for females than for males., Conclusions: Children have higher HRQOL than adolescents in many aspects. With increasing age, HRQOL is frequently worse for females than for males. Examination of the individual aspects leads to a differentiation of the results with relevance for public health.