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Editors and researchers beware: calculating response rates in random digit dial health surveys
Grant R Martsolf1, Robert E Schofield, David R Johnson
1Department of Health Policy and Administration, Pennsylvania State University, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA. martsolfgr@upmc.edu
Objective:
To demonstrate that different approaches to handling cases of unknown eligibility in random digit dial health surveys can contribute to significant differences in response rates.
Data Source:
Primary survey data of individuals with chronic disease.
Study Design:
We computed response rates using various approaches, each of which make different assumptions about the disposition of cases of unknown eligibility.
Data Collection:
Data were collected via telephone interviews as part of the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) consumer survey, a representative survey of adults with chronic illnesses in 17 communities and nationally.
Principal Findings:
We found that various approaches to estimating eligibility rates can lead to substantially different response rates.
Conclusions:
Health services researchers must consider strategies to standardize response rate reporting, enter into a dialog related to why response rate reporting is important, and begin to utilize alternate methods for demonstrating that survey data are valid and reliable.
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