Impact of non-response and of late-response by patients in a multi-centre surgical outcome audit.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of non-responders on the results of a multi-centre surgical outcome audit, factors associated with failure to respond and to assess the benefits of pursuing non-responders beyond two reminders.


METHODS
A multi-centre prospective cohort study.


METHODS
English health regions of Wessex, Mersey and Northern and South-West Thames.


METHODS
Five thousand two hundred and eighty-one (5281) consecutive cases undergoing surgery for prostate disease for a 6-month period.


METHODS
Socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with response (both early and late) and associations of these factors with outcomes (change in symptom severity, overall outcome, and occurrence of complications) three months after surgery.


RESULTS
An overall response rate of 82.4% was achieved. Non-responders were likely to be older and in poorer physical health than responders. Although non-response would lead to the results of an audit overestimating the benefit and underestimating the adverse effects of surgery, the size of these errors is small. Pursuit of a random sample of non-responders beyond two reminders led to 45% responding, potentially boosting the overall response rate by 8% to a total of 90.4%. However, there were few significant differences between these late responders and those who responded earlier suggesting that effort and resources expended in obtaining their response would not be justified in the routine practice of audit.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that in a large multi-centre audit of post-operative patient perceived outcome, a response rate in excess of 80% will provide sufficiently accurate data for assessing the overall outcome of the service.
Emberton
M
M
Surgical Audit Unit, Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, UK.
Black
N
N
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003710:Demography; D004739:England; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011468:Prostatectomy; D015983:Selection Bias; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors