The feasibility of using a telephone-administered survey for determining nutritional service needs of noninstitutionalized older adults in rural areas: Time and costs

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.