Maximising follow-up participation rates in a large scale 45 and Up cohort study in Australia.

Grunseit, A; Bauman, A; Phongsavan, P; Cowle, A; Jorm, L; Rogers, K; Jalayudin, B

Maximising follow-up participation rates in a large scale 45 and Up cohort study in Australia.

Grunseit, A

Bauman, A Phongsavan, P Cowle, A Jorm, L Rogers, K

Jalayudin, B

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Publisher:: BioMed Central
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology, 2016, 13, (1), pp. 1-7
Issue Date:: 2016

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Grunseit, A https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0783-4596
dc.contributor.author	Bauman, A
dc.contributor.author	Phongsavan, P
dc.contributor.author	Cowle, A
dc.contributor.author	Jorm, L
dc.contributor.author	Rogers, K https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5497-4298
dc.contributor.author	Jalayudin, B
dc.date.accessioned	2022-08-07T20:35:14Z
dc.date.available	2016-03-23
dc.date.available	2022-08-07T20:35:14Z
dc.date.issued	2016
dc.identifier.citation	Emerging Themes in Epidemiology, 2016, 13, (1), pp. 1-7
dc.identifier.issn	1742-7622
dc.identifier.issn	1742-7622
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/159746
dc.description.abstract	Background The issue of poor response rates to population surveys has existed for some decades, but few studies have explored methods to improve the response rate in follow-up population cohort studies. Methods A sample of 100,000 adults from the 45 and Up Study, a large population cohort in Australia, were followed up 3.5 years after the baseline cohort was assembled. A pilot mail-out of 5000 surveys produced a response rate of only 41.7 %. This study tested methods of enhancing response rate, with three groups of 1000 each allocated to (1) receiving an advance notice postcard followed by a questionnaire, (2) receiving a questionnaire and then follow-up reminder letter, and (3) both these strategies. Results The enhanced strategies all produced an improved response rate compared to the pilot, with a resulting mean response rate of 53.7 %. Highest response was found when both the postcard and questionnaire reminder were used (56.4 %) but this was only significantly higher when compared to postcard alone (50.5 %) but not reminder alone (54.1 %). The combined approach was used for recruitment among the remaining 92,000 participants, with a resultant further increased response rate of 61.6 %. Conclusions Survey prompting with a postcard and a reminder follow-up questionnaire, applied separately or combined can enhance follow-up rates in large scale survey-based epidemiological studies.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	BioMed Central
dc.relation.ispartof	Emerging Themes in Epidemiology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1186/s12982-016-0046-y
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject.classification	Epidemiology
dc.title	Maximising follow-up participation rates in a large scale 45 and Up cohort study in Australia.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	13
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2022-08-07T20:35:13Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	13
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

Background The issue of poor response rates to population surveys has existed for some decades, but few studies have explored methods to improve the response rate in follow-up population cohort studies. Methods A sample of 100,000 adults from the 45 and Up Study, a large population cohort in Australia, were followed up 3.5 years after the baseline cohort was assembled. A pilot mail-out of 5000 surveys produced a response rate of only 41.7 %. This study tested methods of enhancing response rate, with three groups of 1000 each allocated to (1) receiving an advance notice postcard followed by a questionnaire, (2) receiving a questionnaire and then follow-up reminder letter, and (3) both these strategies. Results The enhanced strategies all produced an improved response rate compared to the pilot, with a resulting mean response rate of 53.7 %. Highest response was found when both the postcard and questionnaire reminder were used (56.4 %) but this was only significantly higher when compared to postcard alone (50.5 %) but not reminder alone (54.1 %). The combined approach was used for recruitment among the remaining 92,000 participants, with a resultant further increased response rate of 61.6 %. Conclusions Survey prompting with a postcard and a reminder follow-up questionnaire, applied separately or combined can enhance follow-up rates in large scale survey-based epidemiological studies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/159746