An randomized controlled trial of Post-it® notes did not increase postal response rates in older depressed participants

Helen Lewis; Ada Keding; Katharine Bosanquet; Simon Gilbody; David Torgerson

doi:10.1111/jep.12618

An randomized controlled trial of Post-it® notes did not increase postal response rates in older depressed participants

Helen Lewis, Ada Keding, Katharine Bosanquet, Simon Gilbody, David Torgerson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Post-it® note to increase response rates and shorten response times to a 4-month postal follow-up questionnaire sent to participants taking part in the Collaborative Care in Screen-Positive Elders (CASPER) trials.

METHOD: Our trial was a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing response rates to questionnaires with a printed Post-it® note (intervention) and without (control), nested in multi centred randomized controlled trials of older people with varying levels of depressive symptoms; the CASPER(+) and CASPER Self Help for those At Risk of Depression (SHARD) trials. A total of 611 participants were eligible and randomized. The primary outcome was response rates, secondary outcomes were time to response and need for a reminder.

RESULTS: Of 297 participants, 266 (89.6%) returned their 4-month questionnaire in the post-it note arm, compared with 282 of 314 participants (89.8%) in the control arm (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.65, P = 0.913). There were no statistically significant differences in time to respond or the need to be sent a reminder. Patients with a major depressive episode were more likely to return questionnaires with post-it notes (P of interaction = .019).

CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in response rates, time to response, or the need for a reminder between the intervention and control at 4-month follow up for older people with depressive symptoms. However, there was a significant interaction between the Post-it® note group and level of depression.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	102-107
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
Volume	23
Issue number	1
Early online date	29 Aug 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12618
Publication status	Published - Feb 2017

Keywords

attrition
depression
nested trial
older adults
questionnaire response rates
Humans
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Depression/therapy
England
Male
Reminder Systems
Time Factors
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Surveys and Questionnaires
Aged
Research Design

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10.1111/jep.12618

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title = "An randomized controlled trial of Post-it{\textregistered} notes did not increase postal response rates in older depressed participants",

abstract = "RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Post-it{\textregistered} note to increase response rates and shorten response times to a 4-month postal follow-up questionnaire sent to participants taking part in the Collaborative Care in Screen-Positive Elders (CASPER) trials.METHOD: Our trial was a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing response rates to questionnaires with a printed Post-it{\textregistered} note (intervention) and without (control), nested in multi centred randomized controlled trials of older people with varying levels of depressive symptoms; the CASPER(+) and CASPER Self Help for those At Risk of Depression (SHARD) trials. A total of 611 participants were eligible and randomized. The primary outcome was response rates, secondary outcomes were time to response and need for a reminder.RESULTS: Of 297 participants, 266 (89.6%) returned their 4-month questionnaire in the post-it note arm, compared with 282 of 314 participants (89.8%) in the control arm (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.65, P = 0.913). There were no statistically significant differences in time to respond or the need to be sent a reminder. Patients with a major depressive episode were more likely to return questionnaires with post-it notes (P of interaction = .019).CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in response rates, time to response, or the need for a reminder between the intervention and control at 4-month follow up for older people with depressive symptoms. However, there was a significant interaction between the Post-it{\textregistered} note group and level of depression.",

keywords = "attrition, depression, nested trial, older adults, questionnaire response rates, Humans, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Depression/therapy, England, Male, Reminder Systems, Time Factors, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Surveys and Questionnaires, Aged, Research Design",

author = "Helen Lewis and Ada Keding and Katharine Bosanquet and Simon Gilbody and David Torgerson",

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AU - Gilbody, Simon

AU - Torgerson, David

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N2 - RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Post-it® note to increase response rates and shorten response times to a 4-month postal follow-up questionnaire sent to participants taking part in the Collaborative Care in Screen-Positive Elders (CASPER) trials.METHOD: Our trial was a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing response rates to questionnaires with a printed Post-it® note (intervention) and without (control), nested in multi centred randomized controlled trials of older people with varying levels of depressive symptoms; the CASPER(+) and CASPER Self Help for those At Risk of Depression (SHARD) trials. A total of 611 participants were eligible and randomized. The primary outcome was response rates, secondary outcomes were time to response and need for a reminder.RESULTS: Of 297 participants, 266 (89.6%) returned their 4-month questionnaire in the post-it note arm, compared with 282 of 314 participants (89.8%) in the control arm (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.65, P = 0.913). There were no statistically significant differences in time to respond or the need to be sent a reminder. Patients with a major depressive episode were more likely to return questionnaires with post-it notes (P of interaction = .019).CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in response rates, time to response, or the need for a reminder between the intervention and control at 4-month follow up for older people with depressive symptoms. However, there was a significant interaction between the Post-it® note group and level of depression.

AB - RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Post-it® note to increase response rates and shorten response times to a 4-month postal follow-up questionnaire sent to participants taking part in the Collaborative Care in Screen-Positive Elders (CASPER) trials.METHOD: Our trial was a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing response rates to questionnaires with a printed Post-it® note (intervention) and without (control), nested in multi centred randomized controlled trials of older people with varying levels of depressive symptoms; the CASPER(+) and CASPER Self Help for those At Risk of Depression (SHARD) trials. A total of 611 participants were eligible and randomized. The primary outcome was response rates, secondary outcomes were time to response and need for a reminder.RESULTS: Of 297 participants, 266 (89.6%) returned their 4-month questionnaire in the post-it note arm, compared with 282 of 314 participants (89.8%) in the control arm (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.65, P = 0.913). There were no statistically significant differences in time to respond or the need to be sent a reminder. Patients with a major depressive episode were more likely to return questionnaires with post-it notes (P of interaction = .019).CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in response rates, time to response, or the need for a reminder between the intervention and control at 4-month follow up for older people with depressive symptoms. However, there was a significant interaction between the Post-it® note group and level of depression.

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KW - questionnaire response rates

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KW - Kaplan-Meier Estimate

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KW - Male

KW - Reminder Systems

KW - Time Factors

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Female

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Aged

KW - Research Design

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EP - 107

JO - Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice

JF - Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice

IS - 1

ER -

An randomized controlled trial of Post-it® notes did not increase postal response rates in older depressed participants

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Keywords

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