D Weston1, V Parsons1, G Ntani2, L Rushton3, I Madan1. 1. Occupational Health Service, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 7EH, UK. 2. MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. 3. Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Postal questionnaires remain an important method of collecting data in trials. However, a high non-response rate can lead to biases, which may undermine the validity of the study. AIMS: To assess a simple method of trying to improve response rates in an occupational health trial evaluating an intervention to prevent hand dermatitis in nurses. METHODS: The trial employed questionnaires at t = 0, t = 1 month and t = 12 months. The t = 1 month questionnaire was posted to study participants (student and intensive care nurses) together with a free postage reply envelope. After 2 weeks, an e-mail was sent to non-responders reinforcing the need for completed questionnaires to be returned. Two weeks later, non-responders were sent another hard copy of the questionnaire, along with an accompanying letter. Six weeks after posting the initial questionnaires, non-responders were sent an SMS text message or were telephoned to remind them to return the questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rates for the 744 student nurses were 8% (no reminder), 27% (after first reminder), 22% (after second reminder) and 27% (after the third reminder), resulting in a response rate of 63%. The response rates for the 959 intensive care nurses were 9% (no reminder), 24% (after first reminder), 24% (after second reminder) and 31% (after third reminder), resulting in a final response rate of 63%. CONCLUSIONS: We found that a series of regular reminders including a third, personalized reminder by SMS text or telephone had a positive impact on non-responders.
BACKGROUND: Postal questionnaires remain an important method of collecting data in trials. However, a high non-response rate can lead to biases, which may undermine the validity of the study. AIMS: To assess a simple method of trying to improve response rates in an occupational health trial evaluating an intervention to prevent hand dermatitis in nurses. METHODS: The trial employed questionnaires at t = 0, t = 1 month and t = 12 months. The t = 1 month questionnaire was posted to study participants (student and intensive care nurses) together with a free postage reply envelope. After 2 weeks, an e-mail was sent to non-responders reinforcing the need for completed questionnaires to be returned. Two weeks later, non-responders were sent another hard copy of the questionnaire, along with an accompanying letter. Six weeks after posting the initial questionnaires, non-responders were sent an SMS text message or were telephoned to remind them to return the questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rates for the 744 student nurses were 8% (no reminder), 27% (after first reminder), 22% (after second reminder) and 27% (after the third reminder), resulting in a response rate of 63%. The response rates for the 959 intensive care nurses were 9% (no reminder), 24% (after first reminder), 24% (after second reminder) and 31% (after third reminder), resulting in a final response rate of 63%. CONCLUSIONS: We found that a series of regular reminders including a third, personalized reminder by SMS text or telephone had a positive impact on non-responders.
Authors: Katie Gillies; Anna Kearney; Ciara Keenan; Shaun Treweek; Jemma Hudson; Valerie C Brueton; Thomas Conway; Andrew Hunter; Louise Murphy; Peter J Carr; Greta Rait; Paul Manson; Magaly Aceves-Martins Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2021-03-06