Marcus A C
Am J Public Health. 1982 Jun;72(6):567-73. doi: 10.2105/ajph.72.6.567.
The use of memory aids to improve respondent recall is becoming increasingly popular in health surveys. In a one-year field experiment involving over 1,200 respondents, people assigned memory aids reported over 50 per cent more symptom episodes than those not assigned memory aids. Differences in reporting levels were particularly striking during the first six to 12 weeks of the survey, for symptoms related to acute, transitory illness, and among minorities and the lower socioeconomic groups. Respondents assigned memory aids were also more likely to report a doctor contact--especially during the fall/winter months. Among respondent who used their memory aids at least once (N = 252), nearly 35 per cent said they were influenced by the information recorded in their memory aids, and most of those who were influenced said that they became more aware of their health. Ten of these people said that they became more worried or depressed because of the information recorded in their memory aids. This constitutes about a four per cent risk among those people who reported using their memory aids at least once. There was no evidence to suggest that the memory aids influenced perceptions of health status.
在健康调查中，使用记忆辅助工具来提高受访者的回忆能力正变得越来越普遍。在一项涉及1200多名受访者的为期一年的实地实验中，配备记忆辅助工具的人报告的症状发作次数比未配备记忆辅助工具的人多50%以上。在调查的前6至12周，对于与急性短暂性疾病相关的症状，以及在少数族裔和社会经济地位较低的群体中，报告水平的差异尤为显著。配备记忆辅助工具的受访者也更有可能报告与医生有接触，尤其是在秋冬季节。在至少使用过一次记忆辅助工具的受访者中（N = 252），近35%的人表示他们受到记忆辅助工具中记录信息的影响，而大多数受到影响的人表示他们对自己的健康状况有了更多的认识。其中有10人表示，他们因为记忆辅助工具中记录的信息而变得更加担忧或沮丧。在那些报告至少使用过一次记忆辅助工具的人中，这构成了约4%的风险。没有证据表明记忆辅助工具会影响对健康状况的认知。
