Evaluating the effect of esthetically enhanced materials compared to standard materials on clinician response rates to a mailed survey

Abstract

Evidence suggests that physicians have lower response rates than nonphysicians to mailed surveys. It is important to identify methods that can increase physician and nurse participation in health-related survey research. In an effort to improve response rates among clinicians, we developed esthetically enhanced survey materials (booklets printed on glossy paper with color and graphic designs) as part of a large mailed-survey study of oncology doctors and nurses who were listed as members of a North American cooperative oncology group. We randomized these clinicians to receive either an enhanced (90%) or standard (10%) paper survey (standard white paper with no color nor graphic designs, stapled together) about offering results of clinical trials to trial participants. Overall, 34% (793/2333) of the surveys were returned. There was no significant difference between the two groups; 33.7% (707/2300) responded to the enhanced materials and 36.9% (86/233) responded to the standard materials (p = .34). These results suggest that esthetically enhanced materials do not increase clinician response rates to mailed surveys, although further research is warranted in this area.

Keywords:

• survey response rate
• enhanced survey materials
• clinician response to mailed survey
• survey design
• survey research

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Emily Blood, the biostatistician who helped design this study.