Assessing racial health inequality in older adulthood: comparisons from mixed-mode panel interviews.
OBJECTIVE
Estimates of the extent of health disparities among Black and White older adults are not consistent across studies. The purpose of this study was to systematically compare responses from Black and White older adults in telephone and face-to-face interviews in order to determine whether estimates of racial health inequality vary by survey interview mode.


METHODS
By using data from a mixed-mode panel study, I compared estimates of changing health inequality for Black and White older adults collected from face-to-face and telephone interviews. I calculated trajectories of physical disability by using latent growth models across seven waves of data.


RESULTS
Face-to-face interviews yielded consistently higher reports of disability relative to telephone interviews of the same persons. Black adults had significantly greater and increasing disability than did White adults for both interview modes. After adjusting for covariates, I found that Black and White older adults had parallel disability trajectories in face-to-face interviews but a widening gap in disability over time in telephone interviews.


CONCLUSIONS
Researchers should judiciously consider whether estimates of racial health inequality-and change in disability more broadly-may be misleading because of interview-mode effects.
Kelley-Moore
Jessica A
JA
Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. jkm@umbc.edu
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American