Evaluating Telephone Questionnaires in Multilingual Populations
Author Information
Author(s): Elizabeth Dormandy, Katrina Brown, Erin P Reid, Theresa M Marteau
Primary Institution: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Hypothesis
Does offering a choice of telephone or postal questionnaire completion improve response rates among a multilingual population?
Conclusion
Offering a choice of telephone or postal administration can significantly increase response rates among both English and non-English speakers, but it incurs additional costs.
Supporting Evidence
- Response rates increased from 26% to 67% when participants were offered a choice of completion methods.
- Women who spoke English had a higher response rate (71%) compared to non-English speakers (56%) when given a choice.
- Telephone completion resulted in more positive attitudes towards antenatal screening compared to postal completion.
Takeaway
If you let people choose how to answer questions—by phone or by mail—they're more likely to respond, especially if they speak different languages.
Methodology
Before and after study comparing response rates from two methods of questionnaire completion among pregnant women in two UK Primary Care Trusts.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to non-randomized design and differences in response rates between English and non-English speakers.
Limitations
The study was observational, which limits causal conclusions, and individual-level markers of social deprivation were not available.
Participant Demographics
Participants included 765 pregnant women, with 571 English speakers and 204 non-English speakers.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI Diff 30 to 52
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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