The Cornella Health Interview Survey Follow-Up (CHIS.FU) Study: design, methods, and response rate.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this report is to describe the main characteristics of the design, including response rates, of the Cornella Health Interview Survey Follow-up Study.


METHODS
The original cohort consisted of 2,500 subjects (1,263 women and 1,237 men) interviewed as part of the 1994 Cornella Health Interview Study. A record linkage to update the address and vital status of the cohort members was carried out using, first a deterministic method, and secondly a probabilistic one, based on each subject's first name and surnames. Subsequently, we attempted to locate the cohort members to conduct the phone follow-up interviews. A pilot study was carried out to test the overall feasibility and to modify some procedures before the field work began.


RESULTS
After record linkage, 2,468 (98.7%) subjects were successfully traced. Of these, 91 (3.6%) were deceased, 259 (10.3%) had moved to other towns, and 50 (2.0%) had neither renewed their last municipal census documents nor declared having moved. After using different strategies to track and to retain cohort members, we traced 92% of the CHIS participants. From them, 1,605 subjects answered the follow-up questionnaire.


CONCLUSIONS
The computerized record linkage maximized the success of the follow-up that was carried out 7 years after the baseline interview. The pilot study was useful to increase the efficiency in tracing and interviewing the respondents.
Garcia
Montse
M
Cancer Prevention and Control Unit, Catalan Institute of Oncology, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain. mgarciam@ico.scs.es
Schiaffino
Anna
A
Fernandez
Esteve
E
Marti
Merce
M
Salto
Esteve
E
Perez
Gloria
G
Peris
Merce
M
Borrell
Carme
C
Nieto
F Javier
FJ
Borras
Josep Maria
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003628:Database Management Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology