Lifestyle and chronic diseases, Epidemiology and public health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Social Epidemiology and Health Policy, Antwerp University, Antwerp, Belgium.
J Med Internet Res. 2022 Jan 7;24(1):e26299. doi: 10.2196/26299.
Potential is seen in web data collection for population health surveys due to its combined cost-effectiveness, implementation ease, and increased internet penetration. Nonetheless, web modes may lead to lower and more selective unit response than traditional modes, and this may increase bias in the measured indicators.
This research assesses the unit response and costs of a web study versus face-to-face (F2F) study.
Alongside the Belgian Health Interview Survey by F2F edition 2018 (BHISF2F; net sample used: 3316), a web survey (Belgian Health Interview Survey by Web [BHISWEB]; net sample used: 1010) was organized. Sociodemographic data on invited individuals was obtained from the national register and census linkages. Unit response rates considering the different sampling probabilities of both surveys were calculated. Logistic regression analyses examined the association between mode system and sociodemographic characteristics for unit nonresponse. The costs per completed web questionnaire were compared with the costs for a completed F2F questionnaire.
The unit response rate is lower in BHISWEB (18.0%) versus BHISF2F (43.1%). A lower response rate was observed for the web survey among all sociodemographic groups, but the difference was higher among people aged 65 years and older (15.4% vs 45.1%), lower educated people (10.9% vs 38.0%), people with a non-Belgian European nationality (11.4% vs 40.7%), people with a non-European nationality (7.2% vs 38.0%), people living alone (12.6% vs 40.5%), and people living in the Brussels-Capital (12.2% vs 41.8%) region. The sociodemographic characteristics associated with nonresponse are not the same in the 2 studies. Having another European (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.20-2.13) or non-European nationality (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.79-3.70) compared to a Belgian nationality and living in the Brussels-Capital (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.41-2.10) or Walloon (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.15-1.87) regions compared to the Flemish region are associated with a higher nonresponse only in the BHISWEB study. In BHISF2F, younger people (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.11-1.54) are more likely to be nonrespondents than older people, and this was not the case in BHISWEB. In both studies, lower educated people have a higher probability of being nonrespondent, but this effect is more pronounced in BHISWEB (low vs high education level: Web, OR 2.71, 95% CI 2.21-3.39 and F2F OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.48-1.95). The BHISWEB study had a considerable advantage; the cost per completed questionnaire was almost 3 times lower (€41 [US $48]) compared with F2F data collection (€111 [US $131]).
The F2F unit response rate was generally higher, yet for certain groups the difference between web and F2F was more limited. Web data collection has a considerable cost advantage. It is therefore worth experimenting with adaptive mixed-mode designs to optimize financial resources without increasing selection bias (eg, only inviting sociodemographic groups who are keener to participate online for web surveys while continuing to focus on increasing F2F response rates for other groups).
由于其成本效益高、实施简便以及互联网普及率提高，网络数据收集在人群健康调查中具有潜力。然而，网络模式可能导致比传统模式更低且更具选择性的单位响应，这可能会增加测量指标的偏差。
本研究评估了网络研究与面对面（F2F）研究的单位响应和成本。
在 2018 年面对面版比利时健康访谈调查（BHISF2F；使用的净样本量：3316）的基础上，组织了一项网络调查（比利时健康访谈调查网络版[BHISWEB]；使用的净样本量：1010）。从国家登记处和人口普查链接中获取了受邀个人的社会人口统计学数据。考虑到这两个调查的不同抽样概率，计算了单位响应率。逻辑回归分析检验了模式系统与社会人口统计学特征之间的关联，以确定单位无应答的原因。比较了完成网络问卷的成本与完成 F2F 问卷的成本。
BHISWEB 的单位响应率（18.0%）低于 BHISF2F（43.1%）。在所有社会人口统计学群体中，网络调查的响应率较低，但在 65 岁及以上人群中，差异更高（15.4%比 45.1%），受教育程度较低的人群（10.9%比 38.0%），具有非比利时欧洲国籍的人群（11.4%比 40.7%），具有非欧洲国籍的人群（7.2%比 38.0%），独居的人群（12.6%比 40.5%），以及居住在布鲁塞尔首都大区（12.2%比 41.8%）的人群。与 F2F 研究相比，与无应答相关的社会人口统计学特征在这两个研究中并不相同。与比利时国籍相比，具有另一个欧洲（OR 1.60，95%CI 1.20-2.13）或非欧洲（OR 2.57，95%CI 1.79-3.70）国籍以及居住在布鲁塞尔首都大区（OR 1.72，95%CI 1.41-2.10）或瓦隆大区（OR 1.47，95%CI 1.15-1.87）与弗拉芒大区相比，与更高的无应答率相关。在 BHISF2F 中，年轻人（OR 1.31，95%CI 1.11-1.54）比老年人更有可能成为无应答者，而 BHISWEB 则不是这种情况。在这两个研究中，受教育程度较低的人成为无应答者的可能性更高，但这种影响在 BHISWEB 中更为明显（低 vs 高教育水平：网络，OR 2.71，95%CI 2.21-3.39和 F2F OR 1.70，95%CI 1.48-1.95）。BHISWEB 研究具有明显的优势；每个完成问卷的成本几乎低了 3 倍（€41 [US $48]），而 F2F 数据收集的成本（€111 [US $131]）。
F2F 的单位响应率通常更高，但对于某些群体，网络和 F2F 之间的差异更为有限。网络数据收集具有相当大的成本优势。因此，值得尝试采用自适应混合模式设计，在不增加选择偏差的情况下优化财务资源（例如，仅邀请对在线调查更感兴趣的社会人口统计学群体，同时继续关注提高其他群体的 F2F 响应率）。
