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Influence of mailing strategies on response to questionnaires

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Kate Newton ,
Samuel M. Stein  and
Clare Lucey
Kate Newton*
Affiliation:
The Priory Hospital Priory Lane, Roehampton, London
Samuel M. Stein
Affiliation:
Children and Families Consultation Service, Windmill Lodge, Southall Middlesex
Clare Lucey
Affiliation:
Children and Families Consultation Service, Windmill Lodge, Southall Middlesex
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of a stamped addressed envelope, as compared to a non-stamped but addressed envelope or no envelope, on response to a mailed questionnaire. The correlation between questionnaire response and subsequent attendance at the first appointment was also studied.

Results

The overall response rate was 26% of 176 families offered first appointments at a local child psychiatry service. Families provided with a stamped addressed envelope were more likely to return their questionnaire and those families who returned the questionnaire were more likely to attend their first appointment.

Clinical implications

The return of patient questionnaires has significant clinical and resource implications. Only essential questionnaires should be sent out to referred families as nearly three-quarters will not be returned. The return rate can be enhanced by providing a stamped addressed envelope but, if questionnaires are not returned within 10 days, the likelihood of return is minimal. As more than half of the families who failed to return the questionnaire also failed to attend their first appointment, questionnaires can be used as a measure of motivation and likelihood of attendance as well as a source of clinical information.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 22 , Issue 11 , November 1998 , pp. 692 - 694
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Choi, B. C., Pak, A. W. & Purdham, J. T. (1990) Effects of mailing strategies on response rate, response time and cost in a questionnaire study amongst nurses. Epidemiology, 1, 72–74.Google Scholar
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Mathai, J. & Markantonakis, A. (1990) Improving initial attendance to a child and family psychiatric clinic. Psychiatric Bulletin, 14, 151–152.Google Scholar
Veiga, J. (1974) Getting the mail questionnaire returned: some practical research considerations. Journal of Applied Psychiatry, 59, 217–218.Google Scholar
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