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At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Targeted mailed materials and the Medicare beneficiary: increasing mammogram screening among the elderly.

OBJECTIVES: Older women have the highest breast cancer rates but are underscreened relative to their risk. Racial/ethnic minority women especially have low screening rates, often because of financial constraints. In response, Medicare introduced subsidized biennial mammogram benefits in 1991. This study examined the effect on mammography rates of an intervention that informed women about the Medicare benefit. METHODS: A list frame method of subject selection was used to select random samples of eligible women from the Health Care Financing Administration's master beneficiary file. Women were interviewed by telephone in 1991 (N = 917) before the targeted mailing and in 1993 (N = 922). One control and 2 treatment communities participated. RESULTS: Mammogram use increased significantly among minorities in the treatment groups. Among minorities who received the intervention, Black women were twice as likely (odds ratio = 1.97) and Hispanic women were more than twice as likely (odds ratio = 2.33) to undergo screening relative to their untreated cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: A targeted low-cost mailed intervention can help increase screening rates among elderly minority women. The Health Care Financing Administration should promote its benefits aggressively if it expects to reach its target--elderly beneficiaries.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2004

Comparison of web and mail surveys in collecting illicit drug use data: a randomized experiment.

This randomized experiment examined survey mode effects for self-reporting illicit drug use by comparing prevalence estimates between a Web-based survey and a mail-based survey. A random sample of 7,000 traditional-aged undergraduate students attending a large public university in the United States was selected to participate in the spring of 2001. Students were randomly assigned to self-administer a survey via the Web or U.S. mail. The Web survey produced a significantly higher response rate than the U.S. mail survey. The prevalence estimates of illicit drug use (lifetime and past year) did not differ significantly between the two survey modes. The findings provide preliminary evidence that Web and U.S. mail surveys produce similar results regarding illicit drug use among undergraduate students. Although additional research is needed involving more diverse samples, these findings bode well for using Web surveys in college-based research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Integrating mailed personalized feedback and alcohol screening events: a feasibility study.

This study characterized a sample of college students attending National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD), and tested the feasibility of using NASD as a platform for initiating the delivery of mailed personalized feedback forms. Participants (N = 153, 65% female) attended NASD and completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT [1]). A subset of at-risk drinkers completed additional questionnaires about their alcohol use and received personalized feedback through the mail. Thirty-four percent of the participants scored above the recommended clinical cutoff on the AUDIT. Men reported higher levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences. The subset of at-risk drinkers reported frequent occasions of binge drinking and relatively high blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). NASD is an effective way of identifying college students with clinically significant levels of alcohol use, and provides an efficient mechanism for initiating the delivery of personalized feedback. More research on the combined effects of NASD and personalized feedback is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Internet versus mailed questionnaires: a randomized comparison.

BACKGROUND: The use of Internet-based questionnaires for collection of data to evaluate patient education and other interventions has increased in recent years. Many self-report instruments have been validated using paper-and-pencil versions, but we cannot assume that the psychometric properties of an Internet-based version will be identical. OBJECTIVES: To look at similarities and differences between the Internet versions and the paper-and-pencil versions of 16 existing self-report instruments useful in evaluation of patient interventions. METHODS: Participants were recruited via the Internet and volunteered to participate (N=397), after which they were randomly assigned to fill out questionnaires online or via mailed paper-and-pencil versions. The self-report instruments measured were overall health, health distress, practice mental stress management, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability, illness intrusiveness, activity limitations, visual numeric for pain, visual numeric for shortness of breath, visual numeric for fatigue, self-efficacy for managing disease, aerobic exercise, stretching and strengthening exercise, visits to MD, hospitalizations, hospital days, and emergency room visits. Means, ranges, and confidence intervals are given for each instrument within each type of questionnaire. The results from the two questionnaires were compared using both parametric and non-parametric tests. Reliability tests were given for multi-item instruments. A separate sample (N=30) filled out identical questionnaires over the Internet within a few days and correlations were used to assess test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Out of 16 instruments, none showed significant differences when the appropriate tests were used. Construct reliability was similar within each type of questionnaire, and Internet test-retest reliability was high. Internet questionnaires required less follow-up to achieve a slightly (non-significant) higher completion rate compared to mailed questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: Among a convenience sample recruited via the Internet, results from those randomly assigned to Internet participation were at least as good as, if not better than, among those assigned mailed questionnaires, with less recruitment effort required. The instruments administered via the Internet appear to be reliable, and to be answered similarly to the way they are answered when they are administered via traditional mailed paper questionnaires.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Internet versus mailed questionnaires: a randomized comparison (2).

BACKGROUND: Low response rates among surgeons can threaten the validity of surveys. Internet technologies may reduce the time, effort, and financial resources needed to conduct surveys. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether using Web-based technology could increase the response rates to an international survey. METHODS: We solicited opinions from the 442 surgeon-members of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association regarding the treatment of femoral neck fractures. We developed a self-administered questionnaire after conducting a literature review, focus groups, and key informant interviews, for which we used sampling to redundancy techniques. We administered an Internet version of the questionnaire on a Web site, as well as a paper version, which looked similar to the Internet version and which had identical content. Only those in our sample could access the Web site. We alternately assigned the participants to receive the survey by mail (n=221) or an email invitation to participate on the Internet (n=221). Non-respondents in the mail arm received up to three additional copies of the survey, while non-respondents in the Internet arm received up to three additional requests, including a final mailed copy. All participants in the Internet arm had an opportunity to request an emailed Portable Document Format (PDF) version. RESULTS: The Internet arm demonstrated a lower response rate (99/221, 45%) than the mail questionnaire arm (129/221, 58%) (absolute difference 13%, 95% confidence interval 4%-22%, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our Internet-based survey to surgeons resulted in a significantly lower response rate than a traditional mailed survey. Researchers should not assume that the widespread availability and potential ease of Internet-based surveys will translate into higher response rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Internet versus mailed questionnaires: a controlled comparison (2).

BACKGROUND: Low response rates among surgeons can threaten the validity of surveys. Internet technologies may reduce the time, effort, and financial resources needed to conduct surveys. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether using Web-based technology could increase the response rates to an international survey. METHODS: We solicited opinions from the 442 surgeon-members of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association regarding the treatment of femoral neck fractures. We developed a self-administered questionnaire after conducting a literature review, focus groups, and key informant interviews, for which we used sampling to redundancy techniques. We administered an Internet version of the questionnaire on a Web site, as well as a paper version, which looked similar to the Internet version and which had identical content. Only those in our sample could access the Web site. We alternately assigned the participants to receive the survey by mail (n=221) or an email invitation to participate on the Internet (n=221). Non-respondents in the mail arm received up to three additional copies of the survey, while non-respondents in the Internet arm received up to three additional requests, including a final mailed copy. All participants in the Internet arm had an opportunity to request an emailed Portable Document Format (PDF) version. RESULTS: The Internet arm demonstrated a lower response rate (99/221, 45%) than the mail questionnaire arm (128/221, 58%) (absolute difference 13%, 95% confidence interval 4%-22%, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our Internet-based survey to surgeons resulted in a significantly lower response rate than a traditional mailed survey. Researchers should not assume that the widespread availability and potential ease of Internet-based surveys will translate into higher response rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

How new subscribers use cancer-related online mailing lists.

BACKGROUND: Online cancer-related support is an under-studied resource that may serve an important function in the information seeking, care, and support of cancer patients and their families. With over 9.8 million cancer survivors (defined as anyone living with cancer) in the United States alone and the number growing worldwide, it is important to understand how they seek and use online resources to obtain the information they need, when they need it, and in a form and manner appropriate to them. These are stated cancer communication goals of the US National Cancer Institute. OBJECTIVES: Our purposes are to (1) present background information about online mailing lists and electronic support groups, (2) describe the rationale and methodology for the Health eCommunities (HeC) study, and (3) present preliminary baseline data on new subscribers to cancer-related mailing lists. In particular, we describe subscribers' use of mailing lists, their reasons for using them, and their reactions to participating shortly after joining the lists. METHODS: From April to August 2004, we invited all new subscribers to 10 Association of Cancer Online Resources mailing lists to complete Web-based surveys. We analyzed baseline data from the respondents to examine their perceptions about cancer-related mailing lists and to describe how cancer patients and survivors used these lists in the period shortly after joining them. RESULTS: Cumulative email invitations were sent to 1368 new mailing list subscribers; 293 Web surveys were completed within the allotted time frame (21.4% response rate). Most respondents were over age 50 (n = 203, 72%), white (n = 286, 98%), college graduates (n = 161, 55%), and had health insurance (n = 283, 97%). About 41% (n = 116) of new subscribers reported spending 1 to 3 hours per day reading and responding to list messages. They used the mailing lists for several reasons. Among the most frequently reported, 62% (n = 179) strongly agreed they used mailing lists to obtain information on how to deal with cancer, 42% (n = 121) strongly agreed they used mailing lists for support, and 37% (n = 109) strongly agreed that they were on the mailing lists to help others. Smaller proportions of new subscribers strongly agreed that others on the mailing lists had similar cancer experiences (n = 23, 9%), that they could relate to the experiences of others on the lists (n = 66, 27%), and that others on the list gave them good ideas about how to cope with cancer (n = 66, 27%). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer-related online mailing lists appear to be an important resource, especially for information seeking but also for support of cancer survivors. These were the primary motivators most members reported for joining mailing lists. The modest proportion of subscribers who strongly agreed that they could relate to others' cancer experiences (as well as similar responses to other process questions) is undoubtedly due at least in part to the short duration that these subscribers were involved with the mailing lists. Emerging data, including our own, suggest that mailing lists are perhaps under-used by minority patients/survivors. These preliminary data add to a growing body of research on health-related online communities, of which online mailing lists are one variant.

Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Damage of office supply, personal use items, and over-the-counter medical devices after sterilization by ethylene oxide gas, electron beam, and gamma radiation.

After letters containing Bacillus anthracis spores entered the U.S. mail in 2001, a problem emerged regarding how to decontaminate the letters, packages, and personal items in offices that received these letters. The effects of three sterilization methods (i.e. ethylene oxide gas [EO], electron beam [e-beam] radiation, and gamma radiation) were evaluated for a variety of office supply and equipment, personal use items, and over-the-counter medical devices. No single sterilization method was suitable for all items that could be mailed or found in an office. Damage or discoloration was evident for some items by each sterilization method. There were changes in the color of certain items, such as some of the packaging material, some pacifiers, some of the fabrics, and the nylon stockings after e-beam and gamma radiation. Both e-beam and gamma radiation damaged all film samples. Following EO sterilization and normal aeration, there were a number of samples with high (above 250 microg/g) levels of EO and samples with detectable ethylene chlorohydrin levels. The data would suggest that certain items exposed to EO sterilization must be further aerated prior to use, or discarded. Generic descriptions of products (such as plastics) or grouping of items (such as condoms) were not sufficient to predict what is safe in terms of EO residual levels remaining on an item. Successful decontamination of a wide variety of items will require careful selection of different sterilization methods.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2000

Social class difference in response to Christmas cards.

In a total of 590 Christmas cards sent perception of status was important for both the sender and the receiver. High status of the sender increased the response rate significantly, especially among the "blue-collar" receivers.

Communication↗
PubMed2004

Efficacy of a mail survey appeal for a dissertation.

Of all the determinants of mail survey response investigated, a dissertation as the purpose is one type of appeal not used in a covering letter. Two parallel field experiments involving populations of wholesale organizations (N=743 and 509) are reported in which such an appeal was tested. Lack of statistically significant findings indicates use of this appeal did not enhance response rate or quality.

Academic Dissertations as Topic↗
PubMed2000

Response rates to surveys with self-addressed, stamped envelopes versus a self-addressed label.

Return rates were studied for a survey on the perceived professional preparation of therapeutic recreation specialists by directors of college and university recreational therapy programs. Specifically, returns for surveys with self-addressed, stamped return envelopes enclosed were compared to those with self-adhering return address labels. Of the 75 surveys sent with a self-addressed, stamped return envelope, 42 responses (56%) were returned at a cost of $2.58 per respondent. Of the 72 surveys sent with a self-adhering return address label 43 responses (59.7%) were returned at a cost of $1.56 per response. While there was no significant difference in return rates, the self-adhering return address label was more cost effective than the self-addressed, stamped, return envelopes.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗