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Abstract
To report the implementation of an open source web survey application and a case study of its first utilisation, particularly as to aspects of logistics and response behaviour, in a survey of Brazilian university students' conceptions about injury causing events. We developed an original application capable of recruiting respondents, sending personal e-mail invitations, storing responses and exporting data. Students of medical, law, communication and education schools were asked about personal attributes and conceptions of the term accident, as to associations and preventability. The response rate was 34.5%. Half of the subjects responded by the second day, 66.3% during the first week. Subjects around 4.2% (95% CI 3.3–5.4) refused to disclose religious persuasion, and 19.2% (95% CI 17.2–21.3) refused to disclose political persuasion, whereas only 2.8% (95% CI 2.1–3.8), on average, refused to answer questions on conceptions and attitudes. There was no significant difference between early and late respondents in respect to selected attributes and conceptions of accident (P-value varied from 0.145 to 0.971). The word accident evoked the notion of preventability to 85.1% (95% CI 83.2 to 87.0) of the subjects, foreseeability to 50.3% (95% CI 47.7–53.0), fatality to 15.1% (95% CI 13.3–17.1) and intentionality to 2.3% (95% CI 1.6–3.2). Web surveying university students' conceptions about injuries is feasible in a middle-income country setting, yielding response rates similar to those found in the literature.
Acknowledgements
The authors are greatly indebted to Deborah Girasek, for having graciously provided her survey instrument; Marilyn Agranonik, for the essential statistical work; Kypros Kypri, for the useful advice on survey logistics; Maria José Bocorny Finatto, for the guidance on terminology; Waldomiro Carlos Manfroi and Barry Pless, for the inspiration and support of the project. Specific contribution of each author: D. B. conceived the study, performed the bibliographic review, designed the questionnaire, obtained approvals, acted as focal group moderator, prepared the data, undertook the analysis and interpretation, and wrote the first draft article. G. H. N. contributed to the development of the protocol, developed the software, and assisted in the preparation of data, analysis and in drafting of the article. E. G., P. Z., R. L. and J. L. P. acted as focal group monitors, assisted in the preparation of data, analysis, and approved the final draft. N. R. M. assisted in the study and questionnaire design, and in drafting of the article. M. Z. G. assisted in the study and questionnaire design, acted as focal group facilitator, assisted in the analysis and interpretation, and in drafting of the article. D. B. is the guarantor.