Assessing the potential for nonresponse bias and measurement concordance in the clinical preventive services self-administered questionnaire survey1

Abstract

Health survey statistics are essential for setting national targets, monitoring population-level trends, and tracking progress in adults’ utilization of preventive health services. However, survey estimates can be subject to nonresponse bias. This paper primarily assesses the potential for nonresponse bias in six utilization estimates from the Clinical Preventive Services Self-Administered Questionnaire (PSAQ) survey. The article highlights several findings. First, the eligible PSAQ sample person’s selective nonresponse associated with influenza vaccinations and blood pressure check-ups reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey provides indirect evidence of overestimating the utilization of those services in the PSAQ survey. Second, the study found a few weighting class variables correlated with PSAQ response propensity and survey variables. Third, surprisingly, base-weighted estimates of preventive service utilization changed little despite multiple post-survey adjustments, suggesting no substantial nonresponse bias. Additionally, the study finds moderate to near-perfect concordance in responses to selected preventive service questions across interview modes.