Survey-related experiential and attitudinal correlates of future health survey participation: results of a statewide survey.

Objective: To determine the survey-related experiential and attitudinal correlates of future health-related survey participation.

Participants And Methods: From July 21, 2005, through October 25, 2005, we conducted a mixed-mode mail and telephone survey of 1636 noninstitutionalized Minnesota residents aged 18 years or older. The overall response rate was 49%. We examined the unadjusted effect of each independent variable on the likelihood of future participation in health-related surveys using univariate logistic regression and discerned the relative contribution of the different variables with multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results: Respondents were asked to complete an average of 4.5 different surveys in the year before the current survey; approximately a quarter of the respondents perceived these surveys to be burdensome. The likelihood of future participation in health-related surveys was negatively related to good health status, a busy schedule, and perceptions that the surveys were too long. Respondents were more than twice as likely to indicate that they would participate in a future health-related survey if they knew the organization doing the survey.

Conclusion: For health-related surveys, investigators should remain mindful of people's busy schedules and keep their surveys as short as possible. Further research is needed to clarify whether the decision to participate in a survey hinges more on knowing the organization paying to have a survey performed (the sponsor) or the survey vendor collecting the data.