Bmc Med Res Methodol
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Bmc Med Res Methodol · Dec 2019
Self-reported data in environmental health studies: mail vs. web-based surveys.
Internet has been broadly employed as a facilitator for epidemiological surveys, as a way to provide a more economical and practical alternative to traditional survey modes. A current trend in survey research is to combine Web-based surveys with other survey modes by offering the participant the possibility of choosing his/her preferred response method (i.e. mixed-mode approach). However, studies have also demonstrated that the use of different survey modes may produce different responses to the same questions, posing potential challenges on the use of mixed-mode approaches. ⋯ Our main findings suggest that the use of mail and Web surveys may produce different responses to the same questions posed to participants, but, at the same time, may reach different groups of respondents, given that the overall characteristics of both groups considerably differ. Therefore, the tradeoff between using mixed-mode survey as a way to increase response rate and obtaining undesirable measurement changes may be attentively considered in future survey studies.
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Bmc Med Res Methodol · Dec 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Pragmatic Clinical TrialStrategies for recruitment in general practice settings: the iSOLVE fall prevention pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial.
Falls are common among older people, and General Practitioners (GPs) could play an important role in implementing strategies to manage fall risk. Despite this, fall prevention is not a routine activity in general practice settings. The iSOLVE cluster randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate implementation of a fall prevention decision tool in general practice. This paper sought to describe the strategies used and reflect on the enablers and barriers relevant to successful recruitment of general practices, GPs and their patients. ⋯ Recruitment in general practice settings can be successfully achieved through multiple recruitment strategies, effective communication and rapport building, ensuring research topic and design suit general practice needs, and using familiar communication strategies to engage patients.