[Data collection methods and results in user surveys in mental health care].
BACKGROUND
Questionnaires on patient experience are increasingly used as quality indicators in the health services. There is limited evidence relating to alternative approaches to surveying patients within this field. We wanted to assess the effect of different methods of data collection on response rates and scores produced by a self-administered questionnaire on patient experience for adult inpatients receiving mental health care.


METHODS
Data were collected from adult inpatients treated at three community mental health centres affiliated with the psychiatric clinic at Stavanger University hospital in spring 2005. The inclusion period was nine weeks, with three designs at consecutive time periods: A, a postal survey following discharge; B, a clinical survey before discharge; and C, patients given the choice of A or B.


RESULTS
The response rate was highest with the postal design (38% vs. 24% and 23% respectively), but the differences were related to one additional reminder in the postal design. Out of the 11 questions, 4 had significantly poorer scores for the postal design. Questionnaire scores were significantly poorer with the postal design; 50 (on a scale from 0 to 100), vs. 59 and 63 in design B and C respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The choice of data collection methods influences the results in user surveys in mental health care. This is an important consideration in the planning of studies and in the interpretation of the results, and in the comparison of results between studies using different data collection methods.
Bjertnaes
Øyvind Andresen
ØA
Nasjonalt kunnskapssenter for helsetjenesten, Postboks 7004 St. Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo. oyvind.andresen.bjertnes@kunnskapssenteret.no
Garratt
Andrew
A
Johannessen
Jan Olav
JO
D000328:Adult; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D010045:Outpatients; D010351:Patient Discharge; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires