Can targeted cover letters improve participation in health surveys? Results from a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Improving response rates in epidemiologic studies is important for the generalizability of the outcome. The aim of this study was to examine whether it can be advantageous for participation to target different versions of the cover letters to different sample subgroups.

Methods

A randomized trial was incorporated in a cross-sectional health survey in Denmark (n = 25,000) where a motivational sentence in the cover letter intended to heighten perceptions of relevance of the survey was varied among 11 sample subgroups (treatment groups). Ten different versions of a sentence outlining questionnaire themes were tested: each mentioned three out of five themes: stress, alcohol, sex, sleep problems, and contact with family and friends. An eleventh group, the control group

SUBMITTER: Christensen AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6635988 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature