REDUCING SYSTEMATIC BIAS IN STUDIES OF GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS - THE USE OF A MEDICAL PEER IN THE RECRUITMENT OF GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS IN RESEARCH

Reducing systematic bias in any group of study participants should be a priority of any researcher. This can be achieved by ensuring the sam pling framework is adequate and by increasing response rates. Response rates in studies of general practitioners have to date tended to be l ow. Generalization of results to the wider population of GPs is theref ore reduced. This paper systematically examines those factors which ca n reduce bias, recognising accurate identification of the target popul ation, gaining good access to respondents, and maximising response rat es as crucial factors. The importance of a medical peer in recruitment is examined. Applying these factors to a study situation, three diffe rent recruitment strategies were tested. As the strategy improved, the re was an incremental improvement in the response rate (44%, 67%, 78%) . These results indicate that by specifically addressing strategies wh ich facilitate access to the target population, and increase the legit imacy and credibility of the study, significant improvements in respon se rates can be achieved.