Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Original article

Vol. 142 No. 1112 (2012)

Primary care research – trade-off between representativeness and response rate of GP teachers for undergraduates

  • Stefan Lippmann
  • Thomas Frese
  • Kristin Herrmann
  • Kathleen Scheller
  • Hagen Sandholzer
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2012.13537
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142:w13537
Published
11.03.2012

Summary

PRINCIPLES: Low response rates are common in primary care research. Our study examines the representativeness of respondents in a survey among general practitioners (GPs). One special aim was to evaluate the representativeness of the subgroup of GP teachers for undergraduates (GPTUs) and to investigate the option of a panel of GPTUs.

METHODS: The representativeness of the respondents was assessed by the use of pooled public data to compare the respondents and all GPs in the German federal state of Saxony on the basis of socio-demographic and subject-specific characteristics. The representativeness of the GPTUs was examined in the same way. For the analysis, two-sided t-tests and Chi2 tests were used.

RESULTS: The total response rate was low (32.87%). The respondents were not a representative sample; in particular, they were more highly qualified than the mean. However, the response rate among the special group of university-associated GP teachers for undergraduates was significantly higher than among other general practitioners. Because of this, the creation of a panel of these GPTUs for further primary care research was investigated. Unfortunately, analysis of this group showed that GPTUs were not a representative sample as they tended to be younger and more highly qualified.

CONCLUSIONS: In general it is possible to create a panel of GPTUs to obtain higher response rates, but investigation of the panel’s representativeness is definitely required. If the panel is not representative another option is the creation of a stratified sample according to the target population.

References

  1. Cockburn J, Campbell E, Gordon JJ, Sanson-Fisher RW. Response bias in a study of General Practice. Fam Pract. 1988;5(1):18–23.
  2. Creavin ST, Creavin AL, Mallen CD. Do GPs respond to postal questionnaire surveys? A comprehensive review of primary care literature. Fam. Pract. 2011;28:461–7.
  3. Crouch S, Robinson P, Pitts M. A comparison of general practitioner response rates to electronic and postal surveys in the setting of the National STI Prevention Program. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2011;35:187–9.
  4. Guadagnoli E, Cunningham S. The effects on nonresponse and late response on a survey of physician attitudes. Evaluation & the Health Professions. 1989;12:318–28.
  5. Bergk V, Gasse C, Schnell R, Haefeli W. Mail surveys: Obsolescent model or valuable instrument in general practice research? Swiss Med Wkly. 2005;189–91.
  6. VanGeest J, Johnson T, Welch V. Methodologies for improving response rates in surveys of physicians. Evaluation & the Health Professions. 2007;30:303–21.
  7. Barclay S, Todd C, Finlay I, Grande G, Wyatt P. Not another questionnaire! Maximizing the response rate, predicting non response and assessing non response bias in postal questionnaire studies of GPs. Fam Pract. 2002;19(1):105–11.
  8. List of members. Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Sachsen (KVS, Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Saxony) c2009 – [cited 2009]. Available from: http://www.kvs-sachsen.de/mitglieder/
  9. Unpublished data provided by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), personal communication with Mr. Hannes Munz, 17.03.2011.
  10. Bjertnaes O, Garrat A, Botten G. Nonresponse bias and cost-effectiveness in a Norwegian survey of family physicians. Evaluation & the Health Professions. 2008;31:65–80.
  11. McLaren B, Shelley J. Response rates of Victorian general practitioners to a mailed survey on miscarriage: randomised trial of a prize and two forms of introduction to the research. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2000;24:360–4.
  12. Edwards PJ, Roberts IG, Clarke MJ, DiGuiseppi C, Wentz R, Kwan I, et al. Methods to increase response rates to postal questionnaires (Review). The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2.
  13. Chmiel C, Bhend H, Senn O, Zoller M, Rosemann T. The FIRE project. A milestone for research in primary care in Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly. 2011,140:w13142.
  14. Asch D, Jedrziewski M, Christakis N. Response rates to mail surveys published in medical journals. J Clin Epidemiol. 1997;50:1129–36.
  15. Robertson J, Walkom E, McGettigan P. Response rates and representativeness: a lottery incentive improves physician survey return rates. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2005;14:571–7.
  16. Templeton L, Deehan A, Taylor C, Drummond C, Strang J. Surveying general practitioners: does a low response rate matter? Br J Gen Pract. 1997;47:91–4.
  17. Sudman S. Mail surveys of reluctant professionals. Evaluation Review. 1985;9(3):349–60.
  18. Flanigan TS, McFarlane E, Cook S 2008. Conducting survey research among physicians and other medical professionals – A review of current literature. Presented at the AAPOR 2008; May 2008; New Orleans, LA, USA.
  19. Kaner EFS, Haighton CA, McAvoy BR. “So much post, so busy with practice – so, no time”: A telephone survey of general practitioners’ reasons for not participating in postal questionnaire surveys. Br J Gen Pract 1998;48:1067–9.
  20. Rashidian A, van der Meulen J, Russell I. Differences in the contents of two randomized surveys of GPs’ prescribing intentions affected response rates. J Clin Epidemiol. 2008;61:718–21.
  21. McFarlane E, Olmsted MG, Murphy J, Hill CA. Nonresponse bias in a mail survey of physicians, Evaluation & the Health Professions. 2007;30(2):170–85.
  22. Cartwright A. Professionals as responders: variations in and effects of response rates to questionnaires, 1961–77. Br Med J. 1978;2:1419–21.
  23. Stocks N, Gunnell D. What are the characteristics of general practitioners who routinely do not return postal questionnaires: a cross sectional study. J Epidemiol. & Community Health 2000;54:940–1.
  24. Giveon S, Kahan E, Kitai E. Factors associated with family physicians' involvement in research in Israel. Acad Med. 1997;72 (5):388–90.
  25. Hummers-Pradier E, Scheidt-Nave C, Martin H, Heinemann S, Kochen M, Himmel W. Simply no time? Barriers to GPs’ participation in primary health care research. Fam Pract. 2008;25(2):105–12.
  26. Silagy C, Carson N. Factors affecting the level of interest and activity in primary care research among general practitioners. Fam Pract. 1989;6(3):173–6.
  27. Hartley S, MacFarlane F, Gantley M, Murray E. Influence on general practitioners of teaching undergraduates: qualitative study of London general practitioner teachers. Br Med J. 1999; 319:1168–71.
  28. Grant A, Prout H, Hawthorne KT, Jones L, Houston H. Some effects of teaching undergraduate medical students on general practitioner thinking and learning. Educ Prim Care. 2010;21:97–104.
  29. Morris, CJ, Cantrill, JA, Weiss, MC. GP survey response rate: a miscellany of influencing factors. Fam Pract. 2001;18(4):454–6.
  30. Borgiel AE, Dunn EV, Campbell LT, MacDonald PJ, Evensen MK, Bass MJ, et al. Recruiting family physicians as participants in research. Fam Pract. 1989;6(3):168–72.

Most read articles by the same author(s)