Protocol for the 2024 CERA General Membership Survey

The Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA) consists of four family medicine organizations that aim to promote family medicine research. Each year, CAFM members can submit audience-specific survey questions. The purpose of this paper is to review the methods and demographics of the 2024 General Membership Survey and determine the generalizability of the survey respondents.

CERA opened its call for the annual General Membership Survey proposals from May 2024 to June 2024. Twelve proposals underwent a competitive peer-reviewed process, and five were chosen. Select CAFM members received survey invitations via Survey Monkey between October 15, 2024 and November 22, 2024. Demographics of potential survey respondents and actual survey respondents were compared using χ² tests or Fisher's exact tests.

Of the 4,844 CAFM members invited to participate, 1,194 responded, yielding a response rate of 24.7%. Demographic data from potential survey respondents were compared to actual respondents. Statistically significant differences were found at the categorical variable analysis level for variables of race/ethnicity, self-identification as underrepresented in medicine, highest degree earned, and state/ province of practice/program, between the potential respondents and actual respondents. Differences in age and gender were not statistically significant between responders and nonresponders. Several characteristics were also found to not be statistically significantly different at an α of 0.05.

This paper describes the methods and the generalizability of the 2024 CERA General Membership Survey. The CERA surveys provide a mechanism for CAFM members to conduct national surveys on topics important to family medicine education.