American journal of industrial medicine
-
Comparative Study
Comparison of a traditional questionnaire with an icon/calendar-based questionnaire to assess occupational history.
Self-reported work histories are an essential tool for estimating exposure in many occupational epidemiologic studies. However, the transience of some occupations such as farm work can hamper recall, resulting in inaccurate reporting. To address this problem, we have developed an icon/calendar-based questionnaire. This study compares work histories collected via this questionnaire to those collected via a traditional questionnaire. ⋯ The icon-calendar questionnaire was more effective than the traditional questionnaire for obtaining complex work histories during interviews, producing a more complete picture of a person's work history.
-
To design questionnaires for epidemiologic research among children of migrant farmworkers, researchers need to consider ways to best solicit information about pesticide exposures. ⋯ These focus groups helped to provide information for developing questionnaire items related to pesticide exposure among migrant farmworker children, and highlighted the importance of using bilingual community interviewers and including children as respondents.