Evaluation of Consumer Panel Survey Data for Public Health Communication Planning: An Analysis of Annual Survey Data from 1995--2006

• Activity Number: 477
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Health Policy Statistics
• Author(s): William Pollard*+
• Companies: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Keywords: Public health ; Health surveys ; Health communication

Abstract

Consumer survey data can provide useful information for audience analysis in public health communication planning. A widely used methodology for conducting consumer surveys involves sampling from panels of individuals and households that have been prerecruited to participate in surveys and other market research. Market research firms maintain panels of several hundred thousand or more individuals across a full range of demographics for such research. In this presentation, data from the annual national Porter Novelli HealthStyles surveys, which employ this methodology, from 1995 to 2006 with 3,000 to 4,000 respondents per year are examined. Comparisons are made with other health survey data from these same years based on national probability sampling methods. The literature on the use of panels is referenced and the implications for public health communication are discussed.