Abstract
Background: The Community Mental Health Survey (CMHS) is a valuable resource of information on experiences of mental health care in England; however, response rates are declining.
Aim: To increase the overall response rate and response rate of young adult service users.
Methods: Four interventions were trialled in a randomised controlled study design alongside the 2017 CMHS. The questionnaire and information letters were modified based on an established framework for influencing behaviour. The modified materials plus a pre-notification card were tested to increase the overall response rate, identified by one-sided z-tests between the intervention and control groups. An information flyer was modified to target service users age 18 to 35, tested using multilevel logistic regression.
Results: The overall response rate significantly increased with the modified information letters compared to the control (29.1% vs. 25.1%; p = 0.007). The targeted information flyer did not increase responses from younger service users; though the combination of modified information letters and questionnaire did (24.6% vs. 15.8%; p = 0.01).
Conclusions: Modifying information letters based on the easy, attractive, social and timely (EAST) framework can increase response rate in postal surveys evaluating community mental health care. Modified letters combined with a modified questionnaire can increase the response from younger service users.
Aim: To increase the overall response rate and response rate of young adult service users.
Methods: Four interventions were trialled in a randomised controlled study design alongside the 2017 CMHS. The questionnaire and information letters were modified based on an established framework for influencing behaviour. The modified materials plus a pre-notification card were tested to increase the overall response rate, identified by one-sided z-tests between the intervention and control groups. An information flyer was modified to target service users age 18 to 35, tested using multilevel logistic regression.
Results: The overall response rate significantly increased with the modified information letters compared to the control (29.1% vs. 25.1%; p = 0.007). The targeted information flyer did not increase responses from younger service users; though the combination of modified information letters and questionnaire did (24.6% vs. 15.8%; p = 0.01).
Conclusions: Modifying information letters based on the easy, attractive, social and timely (EAST) framework can increase response rate in postal surveys evaluating community mental health care. Modified letters combined with a modified questionnaire can increase the response from younger service users.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Mental Health |
| Early online date | 17 May 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 17 May 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Care Quality Commission under the NPSP delivery contract with Picker Institute Europe.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- Community mental health
- evaluating mental health care
- experiences of care
- national surveys
- patient-centred care
- response rates
- service user feedback
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health