Methodology
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Survey Population
The Sinai Community Health Survey 2.0 (Sinai Survey 2.0) data are representative of non-institutionalized adults (aged 18 years and older) and children (aged 0-12 years) living in the nine communities of Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Norwood Park, South Lawndale, West Englewood, and West-West Town (west of Western Avenue). We selected these community areas based on their location within the Sinai Health System primary service area, inclusion in the first Sinai Survey, and involvement in SUHI interventions and collaborations. The survey sample size is adequate to make fair comparisons among four racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, Mexican, and Puerto Rican). Because the survey was administered only in households residing in the selected communities, generalizing to the city of Chicago, as a whole, is not recommended.
Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) contracted the University of Illinois at Chicago Survey Research Lab (SRL) for the sampling methodology and data collection. Both the Sinai Health System and University of Illinois at Chicago Institutional Review Boards approved this study. All respondents provided written consent at the time of the survey.
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Questionnaire
SUHI researchers developed the adult and child questionnaires in consultation with our Sinai Survey Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and SRL. The CAC, made up of representatives who live and work in the surveyed community areas, advised SUHI on questionnaire topic choice and question wording. Survey question sources include the first Sinai Survey, national health surveys, and questions drafted based on CAC feedback. SRL reviewed the questionnaires to ensure that they followed basic principles of questionnaire construction, pilot-tested them, and revised accordingly. The final questionnaires included 369 questions for adults and 160 questions for children.
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Survey Administration
The Sinai Survey 2.0 utilized a multistage sampling design. Selection of the Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) and the initial selection of households in the PSUs were based on Probability Proportionate to Size (PPS) sampling methodology. After the PSUs were selected, housing units were randomly selected from each of the PSUs. Because of the difficulty of gaining entrance into some multi-unit dwellings, difficult-to-access buildings were under-sampled. Interviewers made a minimum of ten personal contact attempts at different times of the day and week for each selected household in order to reach respondents.
In the final stage of sample selection, interviewers assessed the number and sex of eligible individuals in the household and, if the household contained more than one eligible adult, randomly selected the initial respondent. If there were two eligible adults in the household, interviewers selected a second respondent half of the time; and if there were three or more eligible adults in the household, interviewers always randomly selected a second respondent.
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SRL collected data between March 2015 and September 2016. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish based on respondent preference (23% completed the survey in Spanish). The interviews averaged 84 minutes (77 minutes for English-language interviews and 97 minutes for Spanish.) Interviewers used laptop computers and Computer-Assisted Survey Execution System (CASES) software for the questionnaire. Biomeasures including height, weight, and girth, were collected at the end of the interview.
An advance letter explained the study to each sampled household before the interviewer’s first contact attempt. Interviewers also left study materials, such as door-hangers and a FAQ flyer, at households where the selected participant was not contacted. In order to incentivize participation, each participating adult received $50 compensation. The overall survey response rate was 28% (American Association of Public Opinion Research response rate #3), resulting in a final sample size of 1,543 adults and 394 children.