Abstract
BackgroundSurveys are established methods for collecting population data that are unavailable from other sources; however, response rates to surveys are declining. A number of methods have been identified to increase survey returns yet response rates remain low. This paper evaluates the impact of five selected methods on the response rate to pilot surveys, conducted prior to a large-scale National Maternity Survey in England.MethodsThe pilot national maternity surveys were cross-sectional population-based questionnaire surveys of women who were three months postpartum selected at random from birth registrations. Women received a postal questionnaire, which they could complete on paper, online or verbally over the telephone. An initial pilot survey was conducted (pilot 1, n = 1000) to which the response rate was lower than expected. Therefore, a further pilot survey was conducted (pilot 2, n = 2000) using additional selected methods with the specific aim of increasing the response rate. The additional selected methods used for all women in pilot 2 were: pre-notification, a shorter questionnaire, more personable survey materials, an additional reminder, and inclusion of quick response (QR) codes to enable faster access to the online version of the survey. To assess the impact of the selected methods, response rates to pilot surveys 1 and 2 were compared.ResultsThe response rate increased significantly from 28.7% in pilot 1 to 33.1% in pilot 2 (+ 4.4%, 95%CI:0.88–7.83, p = 0.02). Analysis of weekly returns according to time from initial and reminder mail-outs suggests that this increase was largely due to the additional reminder. Most respondents completed the paper questionnaire rather than taking part online or over the telephone in both pilot surveys. However, the overall response to the online questionnaire almost doubled from 1.8% in pilot 1 to 3.5% in pilot 2, corresponding to an absolute difference of 1.7% (95%CI:0.45–2.81, p = 0.01), suggesting that QR codes might have facilitated online participation.ConclusionsDeclining survey response rates may be ameliorated with the use of selected methods. Further studies should evaluate the effectiveness of each of these methods using randomised controlled trials and identify novel strategies for engaging populations in survey research.
Highlights
Surveys are established methods for collecting population data that are unavailable from other sources; response rates to surveys are declining
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of five selected methods on the response rate to pilot surveys, conducted prior to a large-scale National Maternity Survey (NMS) in England
There were no differences between the two samples of women in terms of age, marital status at the time of registering the birth of the baby, country of birth, Index of multiple deprivation (IMD), or region of residence (p > 0.05)
Summary
Surveys are established methods for collecting population data that are unavailable from other sources; response rates to surveys are declining. The response rate to the National Maternity Survey (NMS), which uses postal questionnaires to survey mothers during the postnatal period, has fallen from 67% in 1995 to 47% in 2014 [2,3,4]. This decline is consistent with other large UK maternity surveys, such as the Infant Feeding Surveys [5] and the Care Quality Commission Maternity Surveys [6]. With the exception of the pre-notice letter, all methods had a positive impact and, following implementation of these, the response rate to the GP Patient Survey increased, yet still remained below 40%
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