National School Health Survey: Methodological aspects changes and comparability with the Global School-based Student Health Survey.

Objective: To analyze the changes in the methodological aspects of the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE) and its comparability with the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS).

Methods: This evaluative study that utilized the PeNSE questionnaires from 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019, and the GSHS questionnaires from 2013-2017 e 2018-2020. The variables analyzed included the sample size, representativeness and geographic stratification of PeNSE, the number of questions in PeNSE, the percentage similarity of the PeNSE 2019 relative to the 2015, and its comparability with GSHS.

Results: Over the four editions of PeNSE, the sample size increased (from 63,411 in 2009 to 125,123 in 2019). There were changes in educational levels (exclusion of the 6th grade and inclusion of the 7th and 8th grades of primary and secondary education), geographic stratification (expanded to large regions and federation units), and the number of questions increased by 46%. Regarding the similarity between the 2015 and 2019 editions, 48 questions were added, 35 were excluded, and 4 were changed. In 2019, PeNSE presented 11 modules that were partially comparable and 3 that were potentially not to those of 2015. The PeNSE 2015 edition was more similar to the GSHS, with 10 comparable modules, whereas in 2019, this number was reduced to five.

Conclusion: Since its creation, PeNSE has undergone several changes, including increased sample representativeness and number of questions across editions. However, changes to the questionnaires must be analyzed with caution, as they may compromise comparability with previous editions and international surveys.