Ongoing Studies
Headway’s Research Staff supports a wide array of exciting studies. Explore below to learn about just a few of the ongoing and recurrent studies that Headway supports.
National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH)
NSDUH is the federal government’s primary source of national data on the use and non-use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances. The survey also contains questions on mental health, illegal behaviors, and other topics associated with substance use. It also involves interviewing approximately 70,000 randomly selected individuals aged 12 and older. NSDUH is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA selected RTI International in 1988 to conduct NSDUH.
Headway, partnered with RTI, staffs Field Interviewers and Field Supervisors for the NSDUH study. We fill 100 openings four times a year (every quarter). FIs work 20-25 hours/week, contact various households in assigned areas, and visit the household to gather data to inform policy makers and government agencies.
Evaluation of the Public Education
Campaign on Teen Tobacco (ExPECTT)
The Evaluation of the Public Education Campaign on Teen Tobacco (ExPECTT) is a government-sponsored research study. Data collected from this study will help researchers and policy makers understand the impact and effectiveness of public education activities aimed at reducing tobacco use and the health risk of using tobacco.
Headway, partnered with RTI, staffs Field Interviewers who collect data from youth in order to understand attitudes and beliefs towards tobacco use as well as youth media exposure.
Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) Program
The WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children who are found to be at nutritional risk.
Headway, partnered with RTI, seeks Compliance Buyers (CBs) to pose as WIC participants in a “secret shopper” role. CBs will visit a list of vendors to make purchases, record prices, and complete surveys regarding the store's compliance with WIC Program requirements.
Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS)
The Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS) is a study conducted at public marine fishing access points, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
Headway, partnered with RTI, staffs part-time Field Staff to conduct face-to-face interviews with marine recreational angles. Field Staff travel to assigned sites to interview anglers about their fishing experiences, collect a variety of information, and (when possible) weigh, measure, and identify fish by species name. Assigned sites can include beaches, banks, piers, docks, jetties, and access points for private, charter, and head boats, including marinas, boat ramps, and other points of entry to marine waters.
Making Pre-K Count (MPC) Study
The Making Pre-K Count (MPC) Study is sponsored by the Robin Hood Foundation, an organization working to fund poverty-fighting program in New York City. It is designed to study the impact of long–term outcomes for children, including academic achievement, by focusing on strengthening instructional quality in preschool classrooms.
Headway, partnered with RTI, staffs Field Interviewers who conduct classroom observations in New York City area preschools, including public school kindergarten classrooms, Head Start centers, and community child care centers.
California Socioeconomic Survey
The California Socioeconomic Survey (CalSES) is a longitudinal survey of California families enrolled in the CalWORKs Program. CalWorks is a state-funded program operated locally by county welfare departments that provides cash assistance and other services to eligible needy California families in all 58 counties in California. The survey is being conducted as part of a larger research project that seeks to assess the impact of recent changes to the CalWORKs Program on California families. The results of the survey will provide information that may help improve the services provided by CalWORKs.
Headway, partnered with the RAND Corporation, staffs Field interviewers who conduct in-home assessments of children ages 2-12 previously or currently enrolled in the CalWORKs program.
Early Head Start Research & Evaluation Project
The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHS) is a longitudinal impact evaluation of the Early Head Start program initiated in 1996. Child and family assessments were conducted when children were 14 months old, 24 months old, 36 months old, in the spring prior to kindergarten entry, and again in the spring of the sixth year of formal schooling (5th grade for most children). In 2012, ACF awarded a contract to RAND Corporation to track the children and families who participated in the EHSREP in order to maintain up-to-date contact information and prepare for a possible follow-up data collection.
Headway works with the RAND Corporation to staff Field Trackers who support the project by traveling locally to specific neighborhoods and collecting updated contact information from families enrolled in the EHS longitudinal study.
Harris County Marriage Project
The Harris County Marriage Project is funded by the National Institute on Child and Human Development and aims to understand the factors that make marriages last and factors that determine marital longevity. Results from the study will serve to inform educational programs to assist newlywed couples and couples considering marriage.
Headway, partnered with the RAND Corporation, staffs Field Interviewers who conduct computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) with English and/or Spanish-speaking newlywed couples throughout Harris County, TX. Interviews take place in participant homes or other community locations and include videotaped discussions between couples.
Environmental Polymorphisms Registry
The Environmental Polymorphisms Registry is a research study sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The EPR is a registry established to collect and store DNA samples from 20,000 participants, and to serve as a resource for scientists investigating genotype-driven translational research of chronic conditions.
Headway, partnered with Social and Scientific Systems, staffs Recontact Specialists to conduct short telephone inquiries with participants in the study.
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) Study
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Study (CMS) conducted by IMPAQ International evaluates Medicare Part C and Part D plan sponsors’ call center availability and responsiveness to current and prospective enrollees and contracted providers.
Headway staffs Telephone Interviewers who conduct telephone interviews for the CMS Call Center Evaluation research study using computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) applications to gather and record responses. Questionnaires are administered in English and various other languages, to collect survey information on a wide range of social and economic programs.
African-American Eye
Disease Study (AFEDS)
The African American Eye Disease Study (AFEDS) conducted by Battelle Memorial Institute examines the eye health of older African Americans 40 years or older in Inglewood, CA.
Headway staffs Data Collectors to travel door to door in the Inglewood area in order to qualify participants for the study conduct an in-person interview, and schedule the respondent for an extensive visual acuity exam.