136 – Survey Modes, Including Web Surveys, Phone, and Multimode Surveys
Estimated Prevalence and Characteristics of Web Users: National Health Interview Survey, 2014-2015
Meena Khare
National Center for Health Statistics
Rising nonresponse and increasing survey costs continue to threaten traditional methods of data collection. In recent years, alternative survey designs (with probability or non-probability sampling) and data collection methods have been explored by survey practitioners and statistical agencies. According to the Pew Research Center telephone surveys, the rise in Internet users has grown from 14% of the U.S. adult population in 1996 to 84% in 2015. Therefore, Web surveys and multimode data collection from households and establishments have become a common, alternative cost-saving approach. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has been collecting information on Internet and email use among adults since 2012. This paper presents the estimated prevalence of adult Web users (defined as an NHIS respondent who uses the Internet or email) and their sociodemographic characteristics using data from the 2014-2015 NHIS.