Article Figures & Data
Tables
Site Paper No. (%) Electronic No. (%) NA = not applicable. Note: Not all sites returned 60 forms as specified in the protocol. a Handheld computer was lost/stolen before data collection. b No paper forms were returned because of staffing difficulties. c Handheld computer was lost/stolen after data collection. Paper-first group A 3/30 (10) 2/22 (9) D 2/30 (7) 1/30 (3) E 10/30 (33) 2/20 (10) F 6/30 (20) 1/28 (4) H 9/30 (30) 0/30 (0) J 20/29 (69) 0/4 (0) O 3/30 (10) 2/29 (7) P 1/30 (3) 1/31 (3) R 30/30 (100) 1/25 (4) S 6/30 (20) 1/32 (3) Total 90/299 (30) 11/251 (4) Electronic-first group B 4/30 (13) 0/30 (0) C 18/32 (56) NAa G 30/30 (100) 0/30 (0) I 17/24 (71) 1/28 (4) K NAb 0/32 (0) L 8/30 (27) 0/32 (0) M 2/30 (7) 2/33 (6) N 11/30 (37) NAc Q 6/32 (19) 1/30 (3) Total 96/238 (40) 4/215 (2) Overall total 186/537 (35) 15/466 (3) Site Paper No. (%) Electronic No. (%) NA = not applicable. Note: Not all sites returned 60 forms as specified in the protocol, and the number of items per form varied because of skip patterns. a Handheld computer was lost/stolen before data collection. b No paper forms were returned because of staffing difficulties. c Handheld computer was lost/stolen after data collection. Paper-first group A 3/727 (0.4) 6/547 (1.1) D 6/760 (0.8) 2/740 (0.3) E 14/737 (1.9) 6/522 (1.1) F 12/760 (1.6) 1/714 (0.1) H 27/767 (3.5) 0/781 (0.0) J 55/764 (7.2) 0/121 (0.0) O 3/808 (0.4) 2/735 (0.3) P 2/752 (0.3) 6/774 (0.8) R 34/757 (4.5) 5/604 (0.8) S 14/777 (1.8) 2/876 (0.2) Total 170/7,609 (2.2) 30/6,414 (0.5) Electronic-first group B 10/777 (1.3) 0/771 (0.0) C 67/774 (8.7) NAa G 100/670 (14.9) 0/689 (0.0) I 81/585 (13.8) 5/699 (0.7) K NAb 0/800 (0.0) L 9/750 (1.2) 0/799 (0.0) M 6/806 (0.7) 6/864 (0.7) N 20/764 (2.6) NAc Q 6/823 (0.7) 2/799 (0.3) Total 299/5,949 (5.0) 13/5,421 (0.2) Overall total 469/13,558 (3.5) 43/11,835 (0.4) Type of Form Order of Administration Forms With Errors, % (95% CI) CI = confidence interval. Note: type of form: F1,15=156.93, P<.001; order: F1,17=0.71, P=.41. Paper Either 26.5 (19.9–34.5) Electronic Either 5.1 (3.5–17.6) Type of Form Order of Administration Items With Errors, % (95% CI) CI = confidence interval. Note: type of form: F1,15=49.43, P<.01; order: F1,17=2.65, P=.12. Paper Either 3.00 (2.09–3.91) Electronic Either 0.94 (0.01–1.87)
Additional Files
The Article in Brief
Data Collection Outcomes Comparing Paper Forms With PDA Forms in an Office-Based Patient Survey
James M. Galliher, PhD , and colleagues
Background There are many challenges to collecting and managing research data in medical offices. A survey on immunizations provided an opportunity to look at the use of handheld computers for administering and transmitting patient survey data and compare the completeness of data gathered using paper forms vs handheld computers.
What This Study Found The overall survey return rate was better for paper forms than for electronic forms due to technical difficulties with electronic data collection and stolen or lost personal digital assistants (PDAs). There were more errors of omission on the paper forms.
Implications
- Although handheld computers produce more complete data than paper forms for survey data, these PDAs are not superior because of large amounts of missing data resulting from technical difficulties or their theft or loss.
- Other hardware solutions, such as tablet computers or cell phones linked via a wireless network directly to a Web site, may be better electronic solutions for the future.
