A Cost-Benefit Analysis for Reducing Call Attempts for the National Immunization Survey

• Activity Number: 140
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, July 30, 2012 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Robert Montgomery*+ and Benjamin Skalland and James A. Singleton and Meena Khare and Abera Wouhib
• Companies: NORC and NORC and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and National Center for Health Statistics and National Center for Health Statistics
• Keywords: Survey Costs ; Survey Costs ; Survey Design

Abstract

The National Immunization Survey (NIS), a landline telephone survey moving to a dual landline and cell phone frame in 2012, collects vaccination information for U.S. children ages 19 to 35 months and 13 to 17 years. Starting in Q4/2010, NIS was augmented with cell phone samples. Data collection consists of two stages: first, a random-digit dial (RDD) telephone sample is fielded to screen for households with one or more age-eligible children; second, consent is sought to mail an immunization history questionnaire to the child's provider(s), to collect vaccination history including number of doses and type of vaccines.

Prior research using paradata from the 2009 NIS indicated potential benefit of capping the maximum number of call attempts without introducing bias. This study uses the 2011 NIS and NIS-Teen data to evaluate impact of reduced number of call attempts on the NIS and NIS-Teen components and cell-phone respondents from each. Using paradata such as number of dials and interviewer time to complete the interview, we weigh the tradeoffs between interviewing efforts and measures of data quality including response rates and stability of vaccination coverage estimates.