Getting physicians to open the survey: little evidence that an envelope teaser increases response rates

BACKGROUND: Physician surveys are an important tool to assess attitudes, beliefs and self-reported behaviors of this policy relevant group. In order for a physician to respond to a mailed survey, they must first open the envelope. While there is some evidence that package elements can impact physician response rates, the impact of an envelope teaser is unknown. Here we assess this by testing the impact of adding a brightly colored "$25 incentive" sticker to the outside of an envelope on response rates and nonresponse bias in a survey of physicians. METHODS: In the second mailing of a survey assessing physicians' moral beliefs and views on controversial health care topics, initial nonrespondents were randomly assigned to receive a survey in an envelope with a colored "$25 incentive" sticker (teaser group) or an envelope without a sticker (control group). Response rates were compared between the teaser and control groups overall and by age, gender, region of the United States, specialty and years in practice. Nonresponse bias was assessed by comparing the demographic composition of the respondents to the nonrespondents in the experimental and control condition. RESULTS: No significant differences in response rates were observed between the experimental and control conditions overall (p = 0.38) or after stratifying by age, gender, region, or practice type. Within the teaser condition, there was some variation in response rate by years since graduation. There was no independent effect of the teaser on response when simultaneously controlling for demographic characteristics (OR = 0.875, p = 0.4112). CONCLUSIONS: Neither response rates nor nonresponse bias were impacted by the use of an envelope teaser in a survey of physicians in the United States

Initial validation of a diagnostic questionnaire for gastroesophageal reflux disease

Brief, reliable, and valid self-administered questionnaires could facilitate the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in primary care. We report the development and validation of such an instrument. Methods Content validity was informed by literature review, expert opinion, and cognitive interviewing of 50 patients resulting in a 22-item survey. For psychometric analyses, primary care patients completed the new questionnaire at enrollment and at intervals ranging from 3 days to 3 wk. Multitrait scaling, test–retest reliability, and responsiveness were assessed. Predictive validity analyses of all scales and items used specialty physician diagnosis as the “gold standard.” Results Iterative factor analyses yielded three scales of four items each including heartburn, acid regurgitation, and dyspepsia. Multitrait scaling criteria including internal consistency, item interval consistency, and item discrimination were 100% satisfied. Test–retest reliability was high in those reporting stable symptoms. Scale scores significantly changed in those reporting a global change. Regressing specialty physician diagnosis on the three scales revealed significant effects for two scales (heartburn and regurgitation). Combining the two significant scales enhanced the strength of the model. Symptom response to self-directed treatment with nonprescription antisecretory medications was highly predictive of the diagnosis also, although the item demonstrated poor validity and reliability. Conclusions A brief, simple 12-item questionnaire demonstrated validity and reliability and seemed to be responsive to change for reflux and dyspeptic symptoms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72526/1/j.1572-0241.2001.03451.x.pd

Antimicrobial Resistance among Campylobacter Strains, United States, 1997–2001

We summarize antimicrobial resistance surveillance data in human and chicken isolates of Campylobacter. Isolates were from a sentinel county study from 1989 through 1990 and from nine state health departments participating in National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for enteric bacteria (NARMS) from 1997 through 2001. None of the 297 C. jejuni or C. coli isolates tested from 1989 through 1990 was ciprofloxacin-resistant. From 1997 through 2001, a total of 1,553 human Campylobacter isolates were characterized: 1,471 (95%) were C. jejuni, 63 (4%) were C. coli, and 19 (1%) were other Campylobacter species. The prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was 13% (28 of 217) in 1997 and 19% (75 of 384) in 2001; erythromycin resistance was 2% (4 of 217) in 1997 and 2% (8 of 384) in 2001. Ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was isolated from 10% of 180 chicken products purchased from grocery stores in three states in 1999. Ciprofloxacin resistance has emerged among Campylobacter since 1990 and has increased in prevalence since 1997

The impact of survey mode on the response rate in a survey of the factors that influence Minnesota physicians’ disclosure practices

Abstract Background There is evidence that the physician response rate is declining. In response to this, methods for increasing the physician response rate are currently being explored. This paper examines the response rate and extent of non-response bias in a mixed-mode study of Minnesota physicians. Methods This mode experiment was embedded in a survey study on the factors that influence physicians’ willingness to disclose medical errors and adverse events to patients and their families. Physicians were randomly selected from a list of licensed physicians obtained from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. Afterwards, they were randomly assigned to either a single-mode (mail-only or web-only) or mixed-mode (web-mail or mail-web) design. Differences in response rate and nonresponse bias were assessed using Fischer’s Exact Test. Results The overall response rate was 18.60%. There were no statistically significant differences in the response rate across modes (p – value = 0.410). The non-response analysis indicates that responders and non-responders did not differ with respect to speciality or practice location. Conclusions The mode of administration did not affect the physician response rate

Health status and health behaviors among citizen endurance Nordic skiers in the United States

Abstract Background More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese (69%) placing them at high risk for a wide array of chronic diseases. Physical activity anchors most approaches to obesity prevention and weight management, but physical activity levels remain low in the general US population. As a group, citizen athletes who compete in Nordic skiing events such as the American Birkebeiner participate in fitness cultures that promote physical activity. Methods During October–November 2014, we emailed a 48 question online survey to 23,611 individuals who had participated in the American Birkebeiner ski event, the largest citizen ski race in North America. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data. Binomial and student t test were used to compare binary and continuous outcomes to health behaviors of the US population. Results 5433 individuals responded. Obesity prevalence (BMI ≥30) was 3% and average BMI was 24. Skiers reported very good health (88%), higher fitness than peers (99%), freedom from depression (93%) low levels of smoking (3%), high consumption of fruits and vegetables, moderate alcohol use, and high levels of physical activity. Fifteen percent practiced all 4 healthy living characteristics known to reduce cardiovascular event risk. Conclusions As a group, citizen endurance Nordic skiers enjoy low levels of obesity, below average BMI, and report lifestyle behaviors known to decrease obesity, promote health, and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Future research should explore hypotheses that explain how the fitness cultures surrounding citizen athletic events support weight loss, cardiovascular fitness, and healthy lifestyle habits

Impact of a Sequential Mixed Mode Strategy on Response Rates and Reporting Errors in a Sample of US Veterans who applied for Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefits for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background: Sequential mixed-mode methods, where one data collection strategy in a sample is followed by a second strategy, are increasingly popular for improving survey response rates and reducing non-response bias. There is risk, however, that switching data collection modes will exacerbate non-response bias or introduce interactions between reporting errors and data collection mode. Objectives: To assess the impact of adding a telephone interview to a mailed questionnaire on: 1) overall response rate and estimates of the population’s attributes, 2) differences in participants’ attributes across modes, and 3) the concordance of responses across modes among those who responded to both modes. Methods: observational, cross-sectional survey of 4,918 nationally representative US Veterans who applied for Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between 1994 and 1998. Analyses were stratified by gender. Results: In men, the response rate increased from 65.6% to 80.2% after the telephone interview and in women, from 66.7% to 80.2% (ps < 0.001). There were no differences across modes for the percentage of men and women who said they worked any hours for pay, went out socially, participated in sports, or experienced combat (ps > 0.05). The percentage of men and women saying they were sick or unable to work was 40 percentage points higher in the telephone interview than on the mailed questionnaire (ps < 0.001). Comparing the telephone interview to mailed questionnaire, the percentage reporting unwanted sexual attention while in the military was 18.5 percentage points lower in the men and 9.7 percentage points lower in the women (ps < 0.001). Total population estimates for being sick or unable to work increased by 7.3-8.3 percentage points after the telephone interviews, unwanted sexual attention in the military lowered by 1.6-3.2 percentage points. Conclusions: Adding a second data collection mode substantially improved response rates but may have introduced reporting errors that affected our estimates of why Veterans did not work for pay and whether they experienced unwanted sexual attention in the military

Crop improvement in the era of climate change: An integrated multi-disciplinary approach for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Climate change and global population increase are two converging forces that will jointly challenge researchers to design programs that ensure crop production systems meet the world s food demand. Climate change will potentially reduce productivity while a global population increase will require more food. If productivity is not improved for future climatic conditions, food insecurity may foster major economic and political uncertainty. Given the importance of grain legumes in general common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in particular a workshop entitled Improving Tolerance of Common Bean to Abiotic Stresses was held with the goal of developing an interdisciplinary research agenda designed to take advantage of modern genotyping and breeding approaches that are coupled with large scale phenotyping efforts to improve common bean. Features of the program included a multinational phenotyping effort to evaluate the major common bean core germplasm collections and appropriate genetic populations. The phenotyping effort will emphasise the response of root and shoot traits to individual and combined stress conditions. These populations would also be genotyped using newly emerging high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker arrays or next generation sequencing technology. Association analysis of the core collections aims to identify key loci associated with the response to the stress conditions. Companion bi-parental quantitative trait loci (QTL) experiments will act as confirmation experiments for the association analysis. The upcoming release of the genome sequence of common bean will be leveraged by utilising population genomic approaches to discover genomic regions that differentiate stress-responsive and non-responsive genotypes. The genome sequence will also enable global gene expression studies that will highlight specific molecular-based stress responses. This collective knowledge will inform the selection of parental lines to improve the efficiency of common bean improvement programs