ArticleBMC health services research2009
Response rates in postal surveys of healthcare professionals between 1996 and 2005: an observational study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 192 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
192 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Predictors of response rates of safety culture questionnaires in healthcare: a systematic review and analysis.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Measuring team factors thought to influence the success of quality improvement in primary care: a systematic review of instruments.Implementation science : IS · 2013Pooled it
- Increasing response rates from physicians in oncology research: a structured literature review and data from a recent physician survey.British journal of cancer · 2012Pooled it
- Randomized experiment on the effect of incentives and mailing strategy on response rates in a mail survey of dentists.Journal of public health dentistry · 2022Trial
- Effect of a financial incentive on responses by Australian general practitioners to a postal survey: a randomised controlled trial.The Medical journal of Australia · 2022Trial
- Electronic physician notifications to improve guideline-based anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of general internal medicine · 2018Trial
- Testing the Impact of Mixed-Mode Designs (Mail and Web) and Multiple Contact Attempts within Mode (Mail or Web) on Clinician Survey Response.Health services research · 2018Trial
- Combining Internet-Based and Postal Survey Methods in a Survey among Gynecologists: Results of a Randomized Trial.Health services research · 2018Trial
- Allowing Physicians to Choose the Value of Compensation for Participation in a Web-Based Survey: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Trial
- Do incentives, reminders or reduced burden improve healthcare professional response rates in postal questionnaires? two randomised controlled trials.BMC health services research · 2012Trial
- Developing the clinical components of a complex intervention for a glaucoma screening trial: a mixed methods study.BMC medical research methodology · 2011Trial
- Clinician insights into pediatric temporary feeding tube management: Unseen barriers, unclear roles revealed from a prospective mixed methods study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Article
- A Pilot Study of Burnout in University of Birmingham Dental Students.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026Article
- Postpandemic Use of Video-Based Psychotherapy Among German Outpatient Psychotherapists: Repeated Cross-Sectional and Partially Longitudinal Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Communicator and collaborator - a Finnish national repeated cross-sectional survey of the two CanMEDS competencies by specialty group.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Factors Explaining Nurses' Satisfaction with the Performance of Their Duties in Canada.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres · 2026Article
- Swedish dentists' use of pharmacological pain management in children: a survey.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2025Article
- "Invert the Pyramid, Let Internists Design the Job as Pilots Do a Cockpit": The Views of General Internal Medicine Physicians on Enhancing Well-Being Through Human Factors Engineering.Journal of patient safety · 2025Article
- Home phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: current practices and attitudes.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- A mapping survey of digital clinical consultations in maternity care in England.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
132 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostal surveys are a frequently used method of data collection in health services research. Low response rates increase the potential for bias and threaten study validity. The objectives of this study were to estimate current response rates, to assess whether response rates are falling, to explore factors that might enhance response rates and to examine the potential for non-response bias in surveys mailed to healthcare professionals.
methodsA random sample of postal or electronic surveys of healthcare workers (1996-2005) was identified from Medline, Embase or Psycinfo databases or Biomed Central. Outcome measures were survey response rate and non response analysis. Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression examined the relationship between response rate and publication type, healthcare profession, country and number of survey participants, questionnaire length and use of reminders.
resultsThe analysis included 350 studies. Average response rate in doctors was 57.5% (95%CI: 55.2% to 59.8%) and significantly lower than the estimate for the prior 10 year period. Response rates were higher when reminders were sent (adjusted OR 1.3; 95%CI 1.1-1.6) but only half the studies did this. Response rates were also higher in studies with fewer than 1000 participants and in countries other than US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They were not significantly affected by publication type or healthcare profession (p > 0.05). Only 17% of studies attempted assessment of possible non-response bias.
conclusionResponse rates to postal surveys of healthcare professionals are low and probably declining, almost certainly leading to unknown levels of bias. To improve the informativeness of postal survey findings, researchers should routinely consider the use of reminders and assess potential for non-response bias.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.