Predicting participation in a screening examination for ischaemic heart disease risk factors. Experience from the Zagreb preliminary study

Study of participation barriers in family-focused prevention: research issues and preliminary results

There is a growing body of literature which argues for more research on barriers to participation in family-focused interventions, particularly among at-risk families. Following a review of research needs and issues suggested by the literature, this article presents results from a study which 1) evaluates reasons for decisions against participation in a family-focused prevention intervention project and 2) compares characteristics of intervention project participants with those of non-participants. Data on reasons for refusing participation were collected from non-participants during a recruitment telephone interview and via a mail survey. Results indicated that the most frequent reasons given for decisions against participation concerned intervention time demands and research-related requirements such as videotaping. There were no significant differences between participants and non-participants on any sociodemographic variables. Analyses of the relationships between reasons for participation refusal and sociodemographic subgroupings of non-participants, however, suggested that variations exist among these subgroups. Overall, results highlight the feasibility and importance of data collection on intervention project non-participants, both to clarify potential participation barriers and to gather data on sample representativeness.

Consumer-focused data collection in prevention program evaluation. Rationale and illustrations

This article presents a rationale for consumer-focused data collection at multiple points in the process of prevention program evaluation. Recommended procedures include data collection on consumer responses to various recruitment strategies and consumer preferences for specific program delivery features. Following the general rationale for use of these procedures, a summary description of their relationship with existing approaches to program evaluation is presented. Finally, illustrations of consumer-focused data collection procedures applied during several phases of an ongoing program evaluation project are provided.

Demographic characteristics and health behaviours of consenters to medical examination. Results from the Welsh Heart Health Survey

STUDY OBJECTIVE

The aim was to compare the demographic characteristics and health related behaviours of people who consented to a medical examination as part of a population survey with those who did not.

STUDY DESIGN

The study formed part of the (1985) Welsh Heart Health Survey, which comprised a three stage design involving household interview, self completion questionnaire, and medical examination. Subjects for medical examination were selected from responders to the questionnaire survey (67%). Sixty six per cent of this group consented to medical examination (n = 11,637). Odds ratio analysis techniques were used to compare consenters and non-consenters.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The analysis was based on self reported information available from previously completed questionnaires, and from personal interviews. The study supported the findings of previous research indicating that consenters to medical examination are more likely to be from non-manual social groups, to be aged 25-44 years, to be educated beyond school age, and to be married. Individuals with healthy lifestyle characteristics (diet, physical activity) were overrepresented among consenters. The only exception to this finding was in relation to excessive alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings emphasise the importance of maximising response rates in all forms of social research including surveys with a clinical component. They also have methodological and analytical implications for the Welsh Heart Health Survey.