The feasibility of using a telephone-administered survey for determining nutritional service needs of noninstitutionalized older adults in rural areas: Time and costs
Jr. Sharkey et Ps. Haines, The feasibility of using a telephone-administered survey for determining nutritional service needs of noninstitutionalized older adults in rural areas: Time and costs, GERONTOLOGI, 41(4), 2001, pp. 546-552
Purpose. This study examined response, participation, time, and costs for a
telephone-administered survey to obtain comprehensive information on gener
al health, eating habits, living environment, and functional status from a
sample of older persons in a rural North Carolina county. Design and Method
s: A probability sample of persons aged 60 years and older from the most re
cent electoral. rolls were mailed a personalized fetter, which was followed
by telephone contact to recruit them into a contemporaneous survey that us
ed a modified version of the Nutrition Screening Initiatives Level I and II
screens. Time requirements and costs associated with the completion, of su
rveys were calculated. Results: Seventy-six percent of the persons contacte
d by telephone (residents of 96% of county precincts) completed the survey.
Because minority elders were more likely to lack a working telephone, they
were underrepresented in the sample. With 555 calling attempts (58% of sur
veys completed on First attempt), we estimated a cost of $10.65 per complet
ed survey. Implications: Telephone-administered surveying of older adults m
ay be considered as an appropriate component of an overall community-based
service strategy. The estimation of the constituents of nutritional risk, b
y geographic area, economic status, or ethnicity, may aid in providing esti
mates of service needs and procuring and allocating resources. Additional m
ethods of data collection are necessary in order to target older persons wi
thout telephone service.