title: Increasing response rates for mailed surveys of Medicaid clients and other low-income populations.
abstract: Mailing surveys to low-income populations is often avoided because of concern about low response rates. In this study, the authors used a mailed survey of a low-income population to test whether $1.00 or $2.00 cash-response incentives were worth the expense and whether 2-day priority mail ($2.90 postage) would yield a sufficiently higher response rate than certified mail ($1.52 postage) to justify its cost. In 1994, 2,243 randomly selected families in subsidized health care programs in Pierce County, Washington, were randomly sent no incentive, $1.00, or $2.00 in the first of three mailings. For the third mailing, nonrespondents were randomly assigned to receive either certified or 2-day priority mail. After 4 weeks, the response rates were 36.7%, 48.1%, and 50.3% for the no-incentive, $1.00, and $2.00 groups, respectively. After three mailings, the cost per response was the lowest for the group that received $1.00. The response rate for the certified mailing (28.1%) was significantly higher than the rate for the more expensive priority mailing (21.7%). No incentive-related bias was detected. The authors concluded that the most efficient protocol for this low-income population was to use a $1.00 incentive in the first mailing and a certified third mailing.
authors.affiliation: Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Koepsell
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Diehr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hale
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008484:Medicaid; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011177:Postal Service; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D012107:Research Design; D013689:Telephone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D014861:Washington