Comparison of Survey Methods, Response Rates and Times, and Hypothetical Case Management Approaches
| Characteristic | AAFP Survey 5 | WReN Survey | PValue |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAFP = American Academy of Family Physicians; WReN = Wisconsin Research Network; NS = not significant. | |||
| * Total cost of printing, envelopes, and postage divided by number of responses. The associated personnel costs are not included. | |||
| † For case management, we compared responses between the Midwest subset of the AAFP sample (101 physicians, 43 respondents, and 97 responses to cases of inhalational anthrax evaluated) and WReN physicians (62 responses to cases of inhalational anthrax evaluated). Values are percentages of cases for which respondents indicated that they would use that management strategy. | |||
| Survey method | |||
| Location | Nationwide | Wisconsin | |
| Physicians eligible, No. | 33,365 | 60 | |
| Physicians sent survey instruments, No. | 662 | 55 | |
| Method of survey distribution | Sent by conventional mail with self- addressed, stamped response postcard | Sent by e-mail with instructions to reply by e-mail | |
| Distributions, No. | 3 | 2 | |
| Time between distributions, days | 21 | 7 | |
| Direct cost per response, $* | 5.59 | Nominal | |
| Response rate and time | |||
| Physicians responding, No. (%) | 245 (37.0) | 26 (47.3) | NS |
| Range of response times, days | 7–172 | 1–21 | |
| Median response time, days | 28 | 2 | <.0001 |
| Case management† | |||
| Hospitalize the patient, % | 62.9 | 62.7 | NS |
| Obtain a chest radiograph, % | 84.2 | 86.7 | NS |
| Obtain a specimen for blood culture, % | 55.2 | 45.9 | NS |
| Initiate empiric antibiotic therapy, % | 58.8 | 45.9 | NS |