An Online Questionnaire: improving timeliness of outbreak investigations
Amy E. Parry1,2, K.Byron-Gray1, D.Johnson1, J.Raupach1, M. McPherson2
1. Communicable Disease Control Branch, SA Health, Australia2. National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Australia
December 2010
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Outbreak Background
Date 23rd – 26th April 2010 (3 day camp)
CDCB first informed 28th April 2010 (2 days later)
Camp attendees 89
Reported ill 46
Symptoms Diarrhoea
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Participants under 30 75%
Data Collection Method Options
Option 1: Paper-based
Traditionally used
Manually print, pack, label, post
Relies on postage (both ways)
Manual entry of data
Data Collection Method Options
Option 2: Online
Never previously been
used in South Australia
for an outbreak investigation
Why an online survey?
Young cohort
Available email addresses
66% of South Australians had access to internet at home*
*2009 Australian Bureau of Statistics
Non-Responder Follow-up
After 1 week: • reminder email (n= 36)
At 2 weeks: • reminder phone call (n=14)
Online vs Paper-Based
A recent paper based cohort study selected (n=328)• Cohort study• Multi-day camp situation
Timeliness and response rate of online compared with paper-based
Timeliness: 24 Hours
Online Questionnaire
35%(9% in first hour)
(n= 31 of 89)
Paper Based Method
0%(n= 0 of 328)
Timeliness: Day 5
Online Questionnaire
65%(n=58 of 89)
Paper Based Method
16%(n= 52 of 328)
Timeliness: Day 10
Online Questionnaire
78%(n= 69 of 89)
Paper Based Method
50%(n= 164 of 328)
Overall Response Rate
Online Questionnaire
83%(n=74 of 89)
Paper Based Method
75%(n=246 of 328)
Timeliness: Participant Survey CompletionOnline Questionnaire
14
days
(analysis at day 3)
Paper Based Method
2
months
Online Questionnaire Response Times(n=74)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Time (days)
Num
ber
of r
espo
nses
Email Reminder
PhoneReminder
Day1: 42%
(n=31)
Day 7: 92%
(n=68)
Day 3: initial
analysis
Data Entry
Online Questionnaire
Minimal data entry
necessary
2 of 74manually entered
Data Cleaning
Paper Based Method
Manuallyentered
Importance of Timeliness?
Higher quality information collected
Rapid public health action
Limitations
Shared email accounts
Survey completeness for children
24 hour clock issues
Third party data storage
Comparison outbreak much larger
Conclusion
Easy tool to use
Cost efficient
Time efficient
Resource efficient
However, offsite data storage needs to be addressed
Acknowledgements
The outbreak investigation team
Field Supervisor: Dr Jane Raupach
ANU Supervisor: Michelle McPherson
SA Health
Australian Department of Health and
Ageing for funding the MAE program
2009 and 2010 Australian MAE cohorts
Confidentiality: Zoomerang
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