Survey Services
From phone interviews to web surveys to biospecimen collection, our team provides comprehensive services designed specifically for health research.
Jenna Leonardo, a research specialist in KPWHRI’s Survey Research Program, meets with other team members for a project training meeting.
Telephone recruitment and survey research
We perform telephone data collection using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). CATI software optimizes data quality and efficiency through built-in quality assurance features. Complex skip patterns can be programmed, reducing the possibility of human error. Interviewing occurs seven days a week, and our automated call-scheduling software ensures that respondents are contacted at different times of the day and evening on varying days of the week.
Interviewers are trained in standardized survey interviewing techniques and project-specific procedures, which can include item-by-item specifications for each questionnaire. Interviewers’ phone performance, delivery, and productivity are routinely monitored, and corrective or remedial training is provided as necessary. Interview quality is continuously assessed using silent monitors, and interviewer feedback occurs on a regular basis.
Web surveys
We use dynamic software to create web surveys that allow participants to complete surveys in multiple ways—including with a mobile device. The program delivers e-mail reminders to non-responders, sends thank-you messages to completers, and has many other features that improve the survey experience for research participants. The web surveys we produce look professional and are easy for respondents to navigate and understand. We can even include video links and photos to help respondents identify things like medications and self-care procedures.
Mail surveys and self-administered questionnaires
We have extensive experience designing questionnaires, consulting on mail survey research, and completing large mail survey projects. We aim to design instruments that maximize comprehension and response and minimize missing data—and to create a form that facilitates data entry and editing. We use the latest methodological advances and techniques in the field whenever feasible.
Biospecimen collection
We lead data collection efforts for various types of genetic studies that ask participants to provide biospecimens. We have extensive experience gaining informed consent for genetic testing by phone and coordinating lab visits for participants to give blood samples. We also send blood-draw kits, saliva kits, and consent forms by mail—tracking receipt of the samples and consents and making reminder calls to participants who do not return them within the target timeframe.
Web-based interventions
For studies that involve interventions on the web, our software can provide printable, tailored reports—to both respondents and study staff. For example, respondents who complete a web-based intervention survey can receive a customized report immediately afterward. At the same time, the study team can receive another report on selected responses or summary scores. Our software also makes timed email messages and surveys easy to coordinate.
Mail production
We routinely produce study mailings of all shapes and sizes. Our in-house mail production service can accommodate postcards, advance letters, reminder letters, promotional materials, and study supplies such as biospecimen collection containers. We have extensive experience conducting personalized mailings while maintaining participant confidentiality, and all our staff receive training on privacy protections, including HIPAA.
Data entry and editing
Our services include consulting on the design of forms to be data entered, editing forms, developing codebooks, and performing rigorous quality-assurance procedures. We use multiple software programs for entering and verifying data from paper forms, such as mailed or self-administered questionnaires and clinic intake forms. We also use Teleform software to design mail surveys or intake forms that can be scanned rather than data entered, thus reducing the possibility of measurement error.
KPWHRI survey research
Other Capabilities
Contact
For more information about KPWHRI's Survey Research Program, please contact:
Bianca DiJulio
Manager, Survey Research Program
MPE, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
206-287-2010
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