203629 Characteristics of survey non-responders among school administrators: Insights for improving response rates

Monday, November 9, 2009: 1:15 PM

Melanie Goodell, MPH , College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Martha M. Phillips, PhD, MPH, MBA , College of Medicine and Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
C. Heath Gauss, MS , College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
LeaVonne Pulley, PhD , College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Zoran Bursac, PhD , College of Medicine and Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Jada Walker, MEd , College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
James M. Raczynski, PhD , College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
In 2003, the Arkansas legislature passed Act 1220, which was designed to combat childhood obesity through school-based interventions and policy changes. That same year, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to evaluate the impact of the Act through interviews, surveys, synthesis of available data, and other means. Surveys have been mailed to all public school principals and superintendents each year, with multiple follow-up attempts to increase response rates. While response rates have been high (75-80%), analyses indicate that certain groups of principals and superintendents have been less likely to respond to mailed surveys. For example, response rates were generally higher among larger districts (74.0%) than smaller districts (69.7%), and among elementary schools (79.4%) and middle schools (79.9%) compared to high schools (73.2%). Response also varied somewhat by geographic region of the state. Further, patterns of response across years may be related to legislative activity in specific years. This presentation will explore response patterns by a number of demographic characteristics and will discuss how knowledge of such patterns may be used to improve response rates to surveys of school administrators.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to: Identify demographic patterns of response among school principals and district superintendents in Arkansas; Evaluate possible explanations for changes in response rates over time; Discuss methods that may be used to increase response rates among less participative school types within Arkansas.

Keywords: Survey, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have completed a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, which included coursework in Survey Research Methods and Biostatistics. I am currently employed as a Research Assistant with the Act 1220 Evaluation Project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.