Impact of reminders and method of questionnaire distribution on patient response to mail-back satisfaction survey

Nonresponse and methods of data collection could affect satisfaction measur ement. The goal of this study was to estimate tile impact of (1) nonrespons e and (2) distribution method on evaluation of patient satisfaction in a ma il-back study measuring patient opinion of medical and nursing care. The st udy was conducted in an adult hospital. Patients were pseudo-randomized acc ording to the initial mode of questionnaire distribution (given at hospital or sent by mail). Three reminders were made at I-week intervals to nonresp ondents, regardless of the method of initial questionnaire distribution. Gr oups were distinguished according to the delay of response: initial (before any reminder), middle (after one or two mailed reminders), and late respon dents (after mailed reminders plus telephone contact). The study included c onsecutively discharged patients to obtain 300 patients per arm. 482 patien ts returned the questionnaire (248 in the group receiving the questionnaire at the hospital and 234 in the other group). Groups were compared for sati sfaction scores and delay of response. Early respondents were compared with middle and late respondents for patient characteristics, modality of hospi tal care, and satisfaction scores. Multivariate analyses were performed. Pa rticipation rate before any reminder was higher when the questionnaire was mailed than when it was given at the hospital (45% versus 39.7%, p = 0.03). The initial method of distribution did not influence patient satisfaction level. Satisfaction did not differ between respondents with or without remi nders. Distributing questionnaires by mail may be preferred to distribution at discharge to optimize response rate. Reminders do not seem necessary to estimate satisfaction of overall potential respondents. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.