Citation
Kalsbeek, William D. & Hartwell, Tyler D. (1977). Head and Spinal Cord Injuries: A Pilot Study of Morbidity Survey Procedures. American Journal of Public Health, 67(11), 1051-1057. PMCID: PMC1653760Abstract
This paper describes a pilot case-finding survey which allowed statistical resolution of a number of methodological issues facing researchers who conduct such surveys. The pilot study for a national survey assessing the incidence, prevalence, and economic impact of head and spinal cord injuries, was conducted in eight geographically representative country sites and involved a study of field procedures in several different types of medical facilities. The scope of this paper is limited to the study of procedures used in hospitals. It concluded that: (1) inexperienced field staff were as productive as experienced field staff for activities such as listing discharges and abstracting patient records; (2) field staff familiarity with facility record systems was associated with success in securing hospital cooperation; (3) endorsements by national chapters of relevant professional and health-related associations were sufficient for securing hospital cooperation; and (4) neither hospital characteristics (e.g., size) nor the degree of participation by cooperating hospitals was associated with any significant differences in field staff productivity.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/ajph.67.11.1051Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
1977Journal Title
American Journal of Public HealthAuthor(s)
Kalsbeek, William D.Hartwell, Tyler D.