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Dual-frame random digit dialing (RDD) and address-based sampling (ABS) are typically considered for household survey frames. Inaccurate geographic assignments using RDD can lead to undercoverage of the target population and challenges in oversampling geographically-clustered subpopulations. Geographic targeting is straightforward with an ABS design, but ABS poses challenges related to contact for telephone data collection. The Aligning Forces for Quality: Assessment of Consumer Engagement (AF4Q) survey was originally based on an RDD design and was migrated to an ABS design due to concerns with coverage, sampling efficiencies, and data collection costs. We discuss the challenges associated with each sampling method and compare key measures between the designs. We find that the ABS design offered higher frame coverage, lower costs, and improved sampling efficiency, while the RDD design had higher response rates. ABS should be considered as a viable option for telephone-only data collection efforts that feature geographic targeting or oversampling of geographically-clustered populations.

Does Voice Matter for Youth Reports of Tobacco Use? An Interactive Voice Response Experiment

Because of rising data-collection costs associated with in-person surveys, address-based sampling (ABS) is being explored as an alternative to traditional field enumeration (FE). This has led surveys such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which relies solely on FE, to investigate the use of ABS as a potential sampling frame. Before 2009, ABS frames were restricted to the Computerized Delivery Sequence (CDS) file, which the United States Postal Service (USPS) makes available through licensing agreements with qualified vendors. Research based on the CDS has found the coverage of ABS frames for in-person surveys to be sufficient in urban areas but problematic in rural areas. Since 2009, the USPS has also made available the No-Stat file. A supplement to the CDS file, the No-Stat file contains approximately seven million predominantly rural addresses, most of which are not currently receiving mail directly and are not found in the CDS. One component of evaluating ABS for the NSDUH was to explore the potential added coverage and the cost-effectiveness of using the No-Stat file as a supplemental address source. We matched a nationally representative sample of households eligible for the 2010 NSDUH to commercially available versions of the CDS and No-Stat files and found that the No-Stat file provides an approximately four-percentage-point increase in coverage in rural areas without significantly reducing sampling efficiency.

Despite their advantage for obtaining representative samples of adolescents, telephone surveys have been regarded as inferior for collecting data on youth tobacco use because they yield lower estimates than school-based self-administered surveys. Although no gold standard for smoking estimates exists, the lower estimates in telephone surveys have been attributed to underreporting due to youths’ concern about parents or others overhearing their responses. Telephone audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI) is a cost-effective method for obtaining a representative sample of youths and provides increased privacy for the respondent. We hypothesized that using T-ACASI would encourage youths to more fully report smoking behavior compared to traditional interviewer-administered telephone methods. Our analysis further assessed whether respondent age, gender, race/ethnicity, and parental attitude toward smoking moderated the relationship between survey mode and smoking reports. Using data from a statewide tobacco use survey that randomly assigned youth respondents to either T-ACASI or interviewer-administered mode, we found youths were more likely to report smoking behaviors in T-ACASI mode and that this was especially true for girls, particularly those who believed their parents would disapprove strongly of their smoking. Findings suggest that traditional telephone surveys may underestimate smoking prevalence in most girls by a factor of two, and that a technique for insuring privacy for these respondents is an important component of effective telephone survey methodology.

Background: Response rates have been declining in statewide tobacco surveys. This study investigated whether there was associated evidence of increasing bias in smoking prevalence estimates. Methods: Demographic characteristics of respondents to tobacco surveys in Massachusetts and California were compared to population data in the early 1990s, when response rates were high, and in more recent years, when response rates were lower. State estimates of smoking prevalence at three times were compared with estimates from the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement (CPS-TUS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Results: Under- and over-representation of population subgroups has not changed as response rates have declined. Smoking prevalence estimates from state surveys remain relatively close to the state-specific CPS-TUS estimates. Conclusions: There is no evidence that declining response rates have resulted in less accurate or biased estimates of smoking behavior.

This study examines four possible models of the causal relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment in models of employee turnover: (1) satisfaction precedes commitment, (2) commitment precedes satisfaction, (3) satisfaction and commitment have a reciprocal relationship, and (4) satisfaction and commitment have no significant relationship. Structural equation models with two-wave panel data reveal no significant effects between satisfaction and commitment, and the overall fit for each of the four alternative models is virtually identical. Although analysis of the alternative models suggests the relationship between satisfaction and commitment may be spurious due to common determinants, alternative explanations for these results and conclusions for turnover research are discussed.

Emerging pharmacogenetics research may improve clinical outcomes for common complex conditions typically treated in primary care settings. Physicians' willingness to offer genetically-tailored treatments to their patients will be critical to realizing this potential. According to recent research, it is likely that genotypes used to tailor smoking will have pleiotropic associations with other addictions and diseases, and may have different frequencies across populations. These additional features may pose an additional barrier to adoption. To assess physicians' willingness to offer a new test to individually tailor smoking treatment according to specific test characteristics, we conducted a national mailed survey of 2,000 U.S. primary care physicians (response rate: 62.3%). Physicians responded to a baseline scenario describing a new test to tailor smoking treatment, and three additional scenarios describing specific test characteristics based on published research; there was random assignment to one of two survey conditions in which the test was described as a genetic or non-genetic test. Our findings indicate physicians' self-reported likelihood (0-100 scale) that they would offer a new test to tailor smoking cessation treatment ranged from 69%-78% across all scenarios. Relative to baseline scenario responses, physicians were significantly less likely to offer the test when informed that the same genotypes assessed for treatment tailoring: (1) may also identify individuals predisposed to become addicted to nicotine (p

ObjectiveFood-insecure populations employ multiple strategies to ensure adequate household food supplies. These strategies may increase the risk of overweight and obesity. However, existing literature reports conflicting associations between these strategies and BMI. The objective of the present study was to examine whether food insecurity and strategies for managing food insecurity are associated with BMI in adults.Design, setting and subjectsIn 2005, RTI International and Project Bread conducted a representative survey of 435 adult residents of low-income census tracts in Massachusetts. Food insecurity was assessed using the US Department of Agriculture’s eighteen-item Household Food Security Module.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight and obesity was 51 % and 25 %, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, sociodemographic characteristics and food insecurity, both participation in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) and participation in any federal nutrition programme 12 months prior to the survey were each associated with an approximate 3·0 kg/m2higher adult BMI. In the subset of current FSP participants (n77), participation for ≥6 months was associated with an 11·3 kg/m2lower BMI compared with participation for 2higher than those who did not. Food insecurity was not associated with BMI after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and FSP participation.ConclusionsParticipation in federal nutrition programmes and consumption of fast food were each associated with higher adult BMI independent of food insecurity and other sociodemographic factors. However, prolonged participation in the FSP was associated with lower BMI.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death nationally. Emerging research may lead to improved smoking cessation treatment options, including tailoring treatment by genotype. Our objective was to assess primary care physicians' attitudes toward new genetic-based approaches to smoking treatment.A 2002 national survey of primary care physicians. Respondents were randomly assigned a survey including 1 of 2 scenarios: a scenario in which a new test to tailor smoking treatment was described as a "genetic" test or one in which the new test was described as a "serum protein" test.The study sample was randomly drawn from all U.S. primary care physicians in the American Medical Association Masterfile (e.g., those with a primary specialty of internal medicine, family practice, or general practice). Of 2,000 sampled physicians, 1,120 responded, yielding a response rate of 62.3%.Controlling for physician and practice characteristics, describing a new test as "genetic" resulted in a regression-adjusted mean adoption score of 73.5, compared to a score of 82.5 for a nongenetic test, reflecting an 11% reduction in physicians' likelihood of offering such a test to their patients.Merely describing a new test to tailor smoking treatment as "genetic" poses a significant barrier to physician adoption. Considering national estimates of those who smoke on a daily basis, this 11% reduction in adoption scores would translate into 3.9 million smokers who would not be offered a new genetic-based treatment for smoking. While emerging genetic research may lead to improved smoking treatment, the potential of novel interventions will likely go unrealized unless barriers to clinical integration are addressed.

Background The “graying of the workforce” has generated concerns about the physical capacity of older workers to maintain their health and productivity on the job, especially after an injury occurs. There is little detailed research on age-related differences in work outcomes after an occupational injury. Methods A self-report survey about occupational, health, and financial outcomes, and related factors was administered 2–8 weeks post-injury to workers aged