Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2017
Rates, Delays, and Completeness of General Practitioners' Responses to a Postal Versus Web-Based Survey: A Randomized Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 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
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Response is increased using postal rather than electronic questionnaires - new results from an updated Cochrane Systematic Review.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Pooled it
- Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Response rate differences between web and alternative data collection methods for public health research: a systematic review of the literature.International journal of public health · 2018Pooled it
- 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
- Self-perceived learning outcomes of academic detailing discussing rational therapy with proton pump inhibitors among general practitioners in Norway.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the extended Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire.PloS one · 2026Article
- Mapping motivational factors for continuous medical education: insights from general practitioners with varying levels of participating in CME.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Increasing Participation and Completion Rates in Questionnaire Surveys of Primary Care Patients: Cluster-Randomized Study.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Gatekeeping and referral of patients holding private health insurance: a survey among general practitioners in Norway.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- Barriers for continuous medical education: a cross-sectional questionnaire study among Danish GPs.BJGP open · 2024Article
- What Motivates Physicians to Address Caregiver Needs? The Role of Experiential Similarity.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2023Article
- Physical therapists demonstrate clinical behaviors consistent with established clinical practice guidelines in managing individuals following amputation.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2022Article
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- Article
- Remote online global health education among U.S. medical students during COVID-19 and beyond.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Prevalence and associations of rural practice location in early-career general practitioners in Australia: a cross-sectional analysis.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Talking about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation with Patients in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Potential Domains of Action and Points of View of General Practitioners.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors of Poor Sleep Quality in Collegiate Athletes during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Staff preferences towards electronic data collection from a national take-home naloxone program: a cross-sectional study.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2022Article
- Oral and Subcutaneous Anticancer Therapy Training Course for Non-physician Healthcare Professionals: a Survey Evaluating the Relevance of its Content and its Implications in the Practice of Cancer Care.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWeb-based surveys have become a new and popular method for collecting data, but only a few studies have directly compared postal and Web-based surveys among physicians, and none to our knowledge among general practitioners (GPs).
objectiveOur aim is to compare two modes of survey delivery (postal and Web-based) in terms of participation rates, response times, and completeness of questionnaires in a study assessing GPs' preventive practices.
methodsThis randomized study was conducted in Western Switzerland (Geneva and Vaud) and in France (Alsace and Pays de la Loire) in 2015. A random selection of community-based GPs (1000 GPs in Switzerland and 2400 GPs in France) were randomly allocated to receive a questionnaire about preventive care activities either by post (n=700 in Switzerland, n=400 in France) or by email (n=300 in Switzerland, n=2000 in France). Reminder messages were sent once in the postal group and twice in the Web-based group. Any GPs practicing only complementary and alternative medicine were excluded from the study.
resultsAmong the 3400 contacted GPs, 764 (22.47%, 95% CI 21.07%-23.87%) returned the questionnaire. Compared to the postal group, the participation rate in the Web-based group was more than four times lower (246/2300, 10.70% vs 518/1100, 47.09%, P<.001), but median response time was much shorter (1 day vs 1-3 weeks, P<.001) and the number of GPs having fully completed the questionnaire was almost twice as high (157/246, 63.8% vs 179/518, 34.6%, P<.001).
conclusionsWeb-based surveys offer many advantages such as reduced response time, higher completeness of data, and large cost savings, but our findings suggest that postal surveys can be still considered for GP research. The use of mixed-mode approaches is probably a good strategy to increase GPs' participation in surveys while reducing costs.
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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.