title: Comparison of paper and electronic surveys for measuring patient-reported outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared response rates of paper and electronic versions of the Knee injury Osteoarthritis and Outcome Score questionnaire and examined the characteristics of patients who responded to each survey method.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1486 patients registered by the Kaiser Permanente Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Registry between 2005 and 2010 were included in this study. Response rates by survey modality for the overall cohort, by the specific time periods, and by age and sex at time of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were compared using χ(2) tests or the Fisher exact test when appropriate. Independent Student t tests were used to compare the Knee injury Osteoarthritis and Outcome Scores of survey respondents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall survey response rate was 42%. The 36% response rate in the electronic-survey group was significantly higher than the 22% response rate in the paper-survey group (p < 0.001). The electronic response rate was also significantly higher than the paper response rate at all follow-up times (35% vs 25% at 1 year, p = 0.004, 38% vs 20% at 2 years, p < 0.001, and 35% vs 21% at 3 years; p < 0.001) and among all age groups 19 years and older.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the electronic survey produced higher response rates, it is not sufficient alone to replace the traditional paper version among this Kaiser Permanente population.
authors.affiliation: Project Manager for St Joseph Heritage Health System in Irvine, and former Clinical Project Manager for the Surgical Outcomes and Analysis Department at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA. jamie.bojcic@stjoe.org.
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bojcic
authors.affiliation: Senior Manager of Strategic Market Planning for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA. valerie.m.sue@kp.org.
authors.forename: Valerie M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Sue
authors.affiliation: System Administrator for the Surgical Outcomes and Analysis Department for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA. tom.s.huon@kp.org.
authors.forename: Tomy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Huon
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Baldwin Park Medical Center in CA. gregory.b.maletis@kp.org.
authors.forename: Gregory B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Maletis
authors.affiliation: Epidemiologist in the Surgical Outcomes and Analysis Department at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA. maria.cs.inacio@kp.org.
authors.forename: Maria C S
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Inacio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction; D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010209:Paper; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
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