The effect of non-response on estimates of health care utilisation: linking health surveys and registers.

@article{Gundgaard2008TheEO,
  title={The effect of non-response on estimates of health care utilisation: linking health surveys and registers.},
  author={Jens Gundgaard and Ola Ekholm and Ebba Holme Hansen and Niels Kr. Rasmussen},
  journal={European journal of public health},
  year={2008},
  volume={18 2},
  pages={
          189-94
        }
}
BACKGROUND Non-response in health surveys may lead to bias in estimates of health care utilisation. The magnitude, direction and composition of the bias are usually not well known. When data from health surveys are merged with data from registers at the individual level, analyses can reveal non-response bias. Our aim was to estimate the composition, direction and magnitude of non-response bias in the estimation of health care costs in two types of health interview surveys. METHODS The surveys… 
View on PubMed
academic.oup.com
48 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
1
Background Citations
23
Methods Citations
3
Results Citations
6

48 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Regional differences in the validity of self-reported use of health care in Belgium: selection versus reporting bias
TLDR
The validity of self-reported information on the use of health care, collected through this instrument, in the Belgian Health Interview Survey, is assessed, and the impact of selection and reporting bias on the validity of regional differences in health care use observed in the BHIS is explored.
The effect of health, socio-economic position, and mode of data collection on non-response in health interview surveys
TLDR
Health status does not play a systematic role for non- response rates in health interview surveys, but the non-response rate is higher in lower socio-economic groups.
Official statistics and claims data records indicate non-response and recall bias within survey-based estimates of health care utilization in the older population
TLDR
The KORA-Age study underestimated the use of long-term care services, in-hospital days, physician visits and physician visits, and the assessment of drug consumption by postal self-report questionnaires yielded similar estimates to the analysis of insurance claims data.
The Danish National Cohort Study (DANCOS)
TLDR
DANCOS data are utilised in a variety of analyses presented here by a few examples that emphasise the impact of modifiable risk factors on public health, description of non-response bias, and the epidemiology of chronic pain and of osteoarthritis.
Do postal health surveys capture morbidity and mortality in respondents aged 65 years and older? A register-based validation study
TLDR
Postal questionnaires are likely to capture morbidity (hospitalization) among women and men aged 65-80 years old and mortality among men, while morbidity after age 80 and mortality in women is likely to be underestimated.
The effect of multiple reminders on response patterns in a Danish health survey.
TLDR
Overall, multiple reminders seemed to have only minor effect on response patterns and study conclusions in the present study, which suggested that second and third mailings are unlikely to eliminate differences between respondents and non-respondents.
Validity of the assessment of population health and use of health care in a national health interview survey
TLDR
Self-reported chronic morbidity, measured by a single and global question, is a reasonably reliable instrument to measure ill health and provides useful information on the burden of disease.
Validity of self-reported utilization of physician services: a population study.
TLDR
A substantial agreement was demonstrated between the self-reported and registered general practitioner contacts, and only a minor bias was found towards under-reporting, while gender, age, country of birth, number of chronic illnesses, having functional limitations and having mental health problems, were associated with under- and/or over-reporting.
Comparing healthcare utilization among health survey respondents with the total population – are respondents representative?
TLDR
Compared to the total population, a greater proportion of survey respondents had made at least one outpatient visit to the doctor, however, the mean number of registered visits did not differ significantly between survey respondents and thetotal population.
Non-response bias in a web-based health behaviour survey of New Zealand tertiary students.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 42 REFERENCES
The impact of response bias on estimates of health care utilization in a metropolitan area: the use of administrative data.
TLDR
Response bias affects estimates of registered health care utilization but hardly affects risk estimates of utilization by background characteristics, according to administrative data on use of health care.
Medical consumption of respondents and non-respondents to a mailed health survey
TLDR
The conclusion from this study is that when a mailed health survey is used to measure medical consumption, the non-response bias will result in a small overestimation of utilization.
Assessment and Control of Nonresponse Bias in a Survey of Medicine Use by the Elderly
TLDR
Applying a two-stage, limited dependent variable selection model developed by Heckman to baseline Medicare enrollment and utilization data for both respondents and nonrespondents allowed us to detect and control for negative and significant nonresponse bias in estimates of prescription drug use.
Characteristics of non-response in the Danish Health Interview Surveys, 1987-1994.
TLDR
Although admission rates differed between respondents and non-respondents these differences were too small to bias the estimated population prevalence of morbidity when solely based on respondents.
Analysis of non-response bias in a mailed health survey.
Non-response and related factors in a nation-wide health survey
TLDR
The main reasons for non-response may be the predisposing sociodemographic and behavioural factors, the length and sensitive nature of the questionnaire to some extent, and a suspicion of written consent and a connection being made between the individual and the registers mentioned on the consent form.
Selection bias due to non-response in a health survey among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
TLDR
Self-reported pain and health care utilization were the most important predictors of (non-response with respondents experiencing pain more often and more often using specific health care services.
Patterns of non-response to a mail survey.
Baseline characteristics are not sufficient indicators of non-response bias follow up studies.
TLDR
Non-responders in 1985 did not differ markedly from responders when smoking habits, respiratory symptoms, and lung function were examined in 1974, but during follow up, non- responders had twice as high rates of hospital admission due to respiratory diseases as responders.
Nonresponse Bias in a Survey of Patient Perceptions of Hospital Care
TLDR
The tendency to participate in the survey was negatively associated with the report of problems during hospitalization, and increasing participation from 30% to 70% had only a modest influence on the final conclusions of the survey.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...