David J. Klein|Michele Elliott|Amelia Haviland|Debra Saliba|Q. Burkhart|Chris Edwards|Alan M. Zaslavsky
Understanding Nonresponse to the 2007 Medicare CAHPS Survey
Boston Children's Hospital|Harvard University|RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation|University of California, Los Angeles|RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation|Harvard University
purpose medicare consumer assessments healthcare providers systems mcahps survey primarily englishlanguage mail survey english spanish telephone followup primary means assessing health care experiences american seniors examine unit whole survey item nonresponse survey explore issues regarding surveying seniors health care design methods describe overall rates analyze predictors unit item nonresponse 695197 medicare beneficiaries selected 2007 mcahps survey 335249 unit respondents 49 overall response rate results asians african americans hispanics responded adjusted response rates 717 percentage points lower nonhispanic whites p 001 among seniors response rates dropped beyond age 75 asians older beneficiaries especially likely respond mail african americans hispanics phone breakoff telephone surveys common among african americans older respondents among respondents older age strongest predictor item missingness eg 85 years older failed answer items twice rate aged 6574 years p 001 nonhispanic whites lower rates item missingness racialethnic groups p 001 onethird lower african americans implications survey research older adults especially regarding racialethnic disparities health care could benefit improved response rates results suggest targeted prenotification materials campaigns tailored followup targeted spanish mailings chinese translationscalls adjustments telephone protocols may improve representation response