Emerging advantages and drawbacks of telephone surveying in public health research in Ireland and the U.K.
Emerging advantages and drawbacks of telephone surveying in public health research in Ireland and the U.K.
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DOI：
10.1186/1471-2458-6-208
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发表时间：
2006-08-15
影响因子：
4.5
通讯作者：
Staines, A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Boland, M;Sweeney, M R;Scallan, E;Harrington, M;Staines, A
电话调查已在国际上广泛用于公共卫生研究，并且在爱尔兰和英国的使用也越来越多。本研究比较了 2000 年至 2004 年在爱尔兰岛进行的三项电话调查，审查了研究方法、结果衡量标准以及每项已完成调查的单位成本。我们严格审查了这些基于人群的调查，这些调查都探讨了与健康相关的态度和行为。从 2000 年到 2005 年期间，成功联系到符合条件的公众的电话百分比从 52.9% 下降到 31.8%。调查回复率（建立联系后）从 58.6% 下降至 17.7%。每次完成面试的费用从 4.48 欧元上涨至 15.65 欧元。受访者准备花 10 至 15 分钟进行调查，但调查时间越长，完成率越低。受访者愿意讨论敏感问题。晚上 9 点以后的采访不太成功，人们抱怨电话迟到。电子住宅电话号码簿数据库的随机化排除了所有前号码簿号码，因此不如百组方法生成的号码那样能代表一般人群。然而，目录数据库在排除商业和传真号码方面更加有效。研究人员应该认识到固定电话调查代表性不足、联系公众越来越困难以及人员成本不断增加的问题。我们的结论是，电话调查现在需要采取额外的策略，例如多模式方法或激励措施，以成为获取爱尔兰和英国公共卫生事务数据的有用且具有成本效益的手段。
Telephone surveys have been used widely in public health research internationally and are being increasingly used in Ireland and the U.K. This study compared three telephone surveys conducted on the island of Ireland from 2000 to 2004, examining study methodology, outcome measures and the per unit cost of each completed survey. We critically examined these population-based surveys which all explored health related attitudes and behaviours. Over the period from 2000 to 2005 the percentage of calls which succeeded in contacting an eligible member of the public fell, from 52.9% to 31.8%. There was a drop in response rates to the surveys (once contact was established) from 58.6% to 17.7%. Costs per completed interview rose from €4.48 to €15.65. Respondents were prepared to spend 10–15 minutes being surveyed, but longer surveys yielded poorer completion rates. Respondents were willing to discuss issues of a sensitive nature. Interviews after 9 pm were less successful, with complaints about the lateness of the call. Randomisation from electronic residential telephone directory databases excluded all ex-directory numbers and thus was not as representative of the general population as number generation by the hundred-bank method. However the directory database was more efficient in excluding business and fax numbers. Researchers should take cognisance of under-representativeness of land-line telephone surveys, of the increasing difficulties in contacting the public and of mounting personnel costs. We conclude that telephone surveying now requires additional strategies such as a multimode approach, or incentivisation, to be a useful, cost-effective means of acquiring data on public health matters in Ireland and the U.K.