Abstract
BackgroundMany epidemiological and public health surveys report increasing difficulty obtaining high participation rates. We conducted a pilot follow-up study to determine whether a mailed or telephone survey would better facilitate data collection in a subset of respondents to an earlier telephone survey conducted as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study.MethodsWe randomly assigned 392 eligible mothers to receive a self-administered, mailed questionnaire (MQ) or a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) using similar recruitment protocols. If mothers gave permission to contact the fathers, fathers were recruited to complete the same instrument (MQ or CATI) as mothers.ResultsMothers contacted for the MQ, within all demographic strata examined, were more likely to participate than those contacted for the CATI (86.6% vs. 70.6%). The median response time for mothers completing the MQ was 17 days, compared to 29 days for mothers completing the CATI. Mothers completing the MQ also required fewer reminder calls or letters to finish participation versus those assigned to the CATI (median 3 versus 6), though they were less likely to give permission to contact the father (75.0% vs. 85.8%). Fathers contacted for the MQ, however, had higher participation compared to fathers contacted for the CATI (85.2% vs. 54.5%). Fathers recruited to the MQ also had a shorter response time (median 17 days) and required fewer reminder calls and letters (median 3 reminders) than those completing the CATI (medians 28 days and 6 reminders).ConclusionsWe concluded that offering a MQ substantially improved participation rates and reduced recruitment effort compared to a CATI in this study. While a CATI has the advantage of being able to clarify answers to complex questions or eligibility requirements, our experience suggests that a MQ might be a good survey option for some studies.
Highlights
Many epidemiological and public health surveys report increasing difficulty obtaining high participation rates
Within every demographic strata we examined, participation rates were higher for mothers assigned to the mailed questionnaire (MQ) versus mothers assigned to the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) (Table 3)
We found that participation rates were higher for both mothers and fathers assigned to the MQ versus the CATI
Summary
Many epidemiological and public health surveys report increasing difficulty obtaining high participation rates. Survey research faces two primary challenges: reaching potential subjects, and having potential subjects agree to participate. Though once considered a major breakthrough in survey research, the utility of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATIs) are challenged by new telephone technology and increasing use of wireless (cellular) telephones instead of (or in addition to) landlines. Demographic differences between people living in wireless-only versus landline households could cause bias in telephone surveys. Target populations with a low prevalence of landlines (e.g. young, urban adults) may be hard for researchers to access in telephone surveys [2,10]
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