Der Einfluss von Kontrollüberzeugungen der Interviewer auf die Teilnahme an telefonischen Befragungen

'Um Unterschiede in der Überzeugungskraft von Interviewern in telefonischen Befragungen besser zu verstehen, wird der Erklärungsbeitrag von Kontrollüberzeugungen der Interviewer für die Teilnahmebereitschaft von potentiellen Interviewpartnern an Befragungen bestimmt. Studien zu Kontrollüberzeugungen aus anderen Berufszweigen lassen die Annahme zu, dass Interviewer mit einer starken internalen Kontrollüberzeugung, die also das eigene Handeln und die gewählten Strategien als ausschlaggebend für Erfolg und Misserfolg erachten, höhere Erfolgsquoten aufweisen. Diese These wird anhand von Daten des am Robert Koch-Institut erhobenen Telefonischen Gesundheitssurveys 2007 überprüft. Wie sich in logistischen Mehrebenenregressionen zeigt, haben Interviewer mit hoher internaler Kontrollüberzeugung tatsächlich höhere Erfolgsquoten. Kontrollüberzeugungen der Interviewer und die damit verbundenen Nutzenerwartungen hinsichtlich der eigenen Bemühungen können somit einen eigenständigen Beitrag leisten, um die Unterschiede in den Erfolgsquoten der Interviewer zu erklären. Wie sich weiter zeigt, sind Kontrollüberzeugungen allerdings kein geeignetes Kriterium, um Interviewer für Anrufe mit einer schwierigen Ausgangsbasis auszuwählen.' (Autorenreferat)'In order to reach a better understanding of the differences in persuasive power of interviewers conducting telephone polls this explanatory contribution is dealing with the locus of control of these interviewers and the rate of their success at persuading potential interviewees to take part in such surveys. Studies on the locus of control in other professions assume an increase in the rate of success for interviewers with a strong internal locus of control. This hypothesis is tested on the basis of data from the Telephone Health Survey 2007 conducted by the Robert Koch-Institute. Results from a logistic multilevel model show that interviewers with high internal locus of control really have higher success rates. These results underline the influence that the convictions and the expectations of the interviewers have on the rate of participation in telephone interviews. However, locus of control does not appear to be a valid interviewer selection criterion when the goal is to convince target persons who are averse to surveys. ' (author's abstract)

Adaptation of the AAPOR Final Disposition Codes for the German Survey Context (Version 1.0)

Detailed and precise documentation is the key to scientific research and of particular importance for high-quality data collection. An important parameter for each survey is the response rate. It reflects how many persons initially invited to participate finally took part in a survey interview. In any case, every survey based on a probability sample should report its response rate, since it provides first and easily assessable information about the data collection process. The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) has proposed Standard Definitions that include final disposition codes as guidelines for reporting of response rates. These definitions take various modes of data collection into account. However, the final disposition codes proposed by AAPOR are based on sampling and data collection practices in the context of the United States. To date, there is no clear guidance on how to adapt these definitions in a comparable manner for the German context. This survey guideline aims to close this information gap and offers operational definitions for the AAPOR final disposition codes that are applicable in the German context

Advance letters as a way of reducing non-response in a National Health Telephone Survey: Differences between listed and unlisted numbers

The paper reports a methodological study based on the German Health Update Survey 2009. The study generated telephone numbers randomly and determined the listing status of the selected numbers. The set of listed numbers was randomly split: one half received advance letters, the other half did not. Differences in response rates and demographic characteristics are analyzed in detail

Prevalence and comorbidity of diabetes mellitus among non-institutionalized older adults in Germany - results of the national telephone health interview survey ‘German Health Update (GEDA)’ 2009

Background: Despite the major public health impact of diabetes, recent population-based data regarding its prevalence and comorbidity are sparse. Methods: The prevalence and comorbidity of diabetes mellitus were analyzed in a nationally representative sample (N = 9133) of the non-institutionalized German adult population aged 50 years and older. Information on physician-diagnosed diabetes and 20 other chronic health conditions was collected as part of the national telephone health interview survey ‘German Health Update (GEDA)’ 2009. Overall, 51.2% of contacted persons participated. Among persons with diabetes, diabetes severity was defined according to the type and number of diabetes-concordant conditions: no diabetes-concordant condition (grade 1); hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia only (grade 2); one comorbidity likely to represent diabetes-related micro- or macrovascular end-organ damage (grade 3); several such comorbidities (grade 4). Determinants of diabetes severity were analyzed by multivariable ordinal regression. Results: The 12-month prevalence of diabetes was 13.6% with no significant difference between men and women. Persons with diabetes had a significantly higher prevalence and average number of diabetes-concordant as well as diabetes-discordant comorbidities than persons without diabetes. Among persons with diabetes, 10.2%, 46.8%, 35.6% and 7.4% were classified as having severity grade 1–4, respectively. Determinants of diabetes severity included age (cumulative odds ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.07, per year) and number of discordant comorbidities (1.40, 1.25-1.55). With respect to specific discordant comorbidities, diabetes severity was correlated to depression (2.15, 1.29-3.56), respiratory disease (2.75, 1.72-4.41), musculoskeletal disease (1.53, 1.06-2.21), and severe hearing impairment (3.00, 1.21-7.41). Conclusions: Diabetes is highly prevalent in the non-institutionalized German adult population 50 years and older. Diabetes comorbidities including diabetes-concordant and diabetes-discordant conditions need to be considered in epidemiological studies, in order to monitor disease burden and quality of diabetes care. Definitional standards of diabetes severity need to be refined and consented

Population-based food consumption survey as an additional tool for foodborne outbreak investigations, Germany, 2017

We conducted a food consumption survey in the general adult population of 18 years and older in Germany to obtain data on the frequency of consumption of food items that caused foodborne disease outbreaks in the past. A total of 1010 telephone interviews were completed that queried the consumption of 95 food items in the 7-day period before the interview. Survey results were weighted to be representative. Six exemplary ‘high risk’ food items were consumed by 6% to 16% of the general population. These were raw ground pork: 6.5%; ‘Teewurst’ (=spreadable sausage-containing raw pork): 15.7%; unpasteurised milk consumed without prior heating: 9.0%; food items prepared with raw eggs: 9.8%; unheated sprouts or seedlings: 8.8% and frozen berries consumed without prior heating: 6.2%. Data from our food consumption survey were comparable to data obtained from control persons in case-control studies conducted during past foodborne disease outbreak investigations. We consider our survey an additional helpful tool that will allow comparison with food consumption data from case-patients obtained in exploratory, hypothesis-generating interviews early on in outbreak investigations, and which may assist in forming hypotheses regarding associations of illnesses with suspected food vehicles. This may facilitate and accelerate investigations of future foodborne disease outbreaks.Peer Reviewe

Ad hoc surveys at the Robert Koch Institute

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) regularly conducts nationally representative cross-sectional studies (KiGGS, DEGS and GEDA) as part of the nationwide health monitoring system. In addition to these health surveys, data is collected in telephone interviews either on specific thematic fields (such as diabetes) or specific groups (such as medical staff) that were not or only insufficiently covered by the larger health surveys. As they are flexible and fast, ad hoc surveys conducted via telephone interviews can respond to specific epidemiological and health political questions. This article describes the procedures applied in ad hoc telephone interview surveys, which were newly introduced as a standardised method in 2017 and are applied by the Laboratory for Health Surveys at the RKI. The article presents the stages of project management such as concept development, establishment of a concept for data protection, questionnaire development, pre-test and field phase, calculation of weighting factors and provision of the final data set. The aim is to describe the process and shed light on the standardised procedures, the reported quality indicators and the breadth of possible scenarios of application.Peer Reviewe

Risk Factors for Sporadic Non-Pregnancy Associated Listeriosis in Germany — Immunocompromised Patients and Frequently Consumed Ready-To-Eat Products

Non-pregnancy associated (N-PA) listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, is a rare but severe disease, and is predominantly food-borne. Most cases appear sporadic and their infection vehicle remains unknown. Incidence has increased since 2008 in Germany. We aimed to identify underlying conditions and foods associated with sporadic N-PA listeriosis in Germany. We performed a nationwide case-control study from March 2012-December 2013. Cases were sporadic N-PA listeriosis patients notified to public health. Control subjects were age (40–65 years, 66–75 years, ≥76 years) frequency-matched persons from a nationwide random telephone sample. A structured questionnaire collected information on underlying diseases, therapies and >60 food items. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusting for host factors identified by causal diagram theory, and calculated population attributable fractions. We enrolled 109 cases and 1982 controls. Cases’ median age was 69 years, 55% were male, 44% received immunosuppressive therapy within 3 months prior to illness onset; a further 28% had at least one immunocompromising disease. In multivariable analysis, immunosuppressive therapy (OR 8.8, 95%CI 4.9–15.6), immunocompromising disease (OR 2.7; 95%CI 1.4–5.2), gastric acid suppression (OR 3.0; 95%CI 1.4–6.3), the consumption of cold cooked sausages (OR 2.6; 95%CI 1.6–4.4), the preferred consumption of packaged cheese (OR 2.1; 95%CI 1.3–3.5) and pre-sliced cheese (OR 2.2; 95%CI 1.3–3.7) were significantly associated with N-PA listeriosis. These foods accounted for 59% of all cases. Typical high risk foods, e.g. cold seafood, certain types of cheeses, tended to be negatively associated with disease. In conclusion, immunosuppressive therapy and frequently consumed ready-to-eat foods are the main risk factors for sporadic N-PA listeriosis in Germany. To reduce their risk, immunocompromised persons should consume the identified foods well before the ‘use-by’ date. The microbiological criteria for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods may insufficiently protect persons who are markedly immunocompromised

Efficiency of an acoustic table screen between two work stations in open plan offices

International audienceIn order to improve the acoustic comfort of the users in open plan offices, several solutions are proposed. One of them consists in the installation of a small absorbing screen between two face to face work stations. The height of this table screen is variable. Nowadays it is difficult to predict accurately the efficiency of this kind of installation. A typical case of an office work station has been modeled and different heights of the table screen have been investigated through simulation. Two simulation methods have been compared: The first one (ICARE software developed at CSTB) uses asymptotic methods and is based on beam tracing including edge diffraction. The second method (MICADO 3D software developed at CSTB) uses the resolution through the Boundary Element Method where the Green function is optimized by the use of a source image technique. The simulation results show the insertion loss for the table screen and permits to determine the most efficient height for the protection between two work stations. Finally, the simulations results are compared to measurement results done in a semi-anechoic room by INRS