The methodology of the Italian HBSC 2010 study (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children)

Italy has participated in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study since 2000. These surveys collect data every four years on the well-being and health behaviour of boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15. Until 2007, the coordination group of the University of Turin, Siena and Padua directly sent the questionnaires to each sampled school to collect the data. The sample of about 4500 students was nationally representative. In 2008 the HBSC became part of the project "Surveys on behavioral risks in children aged 6-17 years", coordinated by the National Institute of Health (ISS) and promoted by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, University and Research. For the first time, in 2010, the survey was conducted by health workers in collaboration with teachers in all regions with a representative sample, not just at the national level, but also at regional level. In the 2,504 sampled schools, 77,113 students (25,079 eleven-year-old, 26,048 thirteen-year-old and 25,986 fifteen-year-old) completed an anonymous questionnaire. Knowledge of the health-related behaviour of school-aged adolescents may help monitoring and enable policies for young people to be formulated and implemented.