American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on September 12, 2006
American Journal of Epidemiology 2006 164(10):1019-1025; doi:10.1093/aje/kwj310
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Practice of Epidemiology |
Address-based versus Random-Digit-Dial Surveys: Comparison of Key Health and Risk Indicators
1 National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
2 Abt Associates Inc., Cambridge, MA
3 Baruch College, City University of New York, New York, NY
Correspondence to Dr. Michael Link, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop K-66, Atlanta, GA 30351-3717 (e-mail: mlink{at}cdc.gov).
Use of random-digit dialing (RDD) for conducting health surveys is increasingly problematic because of declining participation rates and eroding frame coverage. Alternative survey modes and sampling frames may improve response rates and increase the validity of survey estimates. In a 2005 pilot study conducted in six states as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the authors administered a mail survey to selected household members sampled from addresses in a US Postal Service database. The authors compared estimates based on data from the completed mail surveys (n = 3,010) with those from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone surveys (n = 18,780). The mail survey data appeared reasonably complete, and estimates based on data from the two survey modes were largely equivalent. Differences found, such as differences in the estimated prevalences of binge drinking (mail = 20.3%, telephone = 13.1%) or behaviors linked to human immunodeficiency virus transmission (mail = 7.1%, telephone = 4.2%), were consistent with previous research showing that, for questions about sensitive behaviors, self-administered surveys generally produce higher estimates than interviewer-administered surveys. The mail survey also provided access to cell-phone-only households and households without telephones, which cannot be reached by means of standard RDD surveys.
data collection; epidemiologic methods; population surveillance; postal service; sampling studies; telephone
Abbreviations: BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; DSF, Delivery Sequence File; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; RDD, random-digit dial
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