Telephone versus face to face interviewing as a means of collecting data relevant to the management of diabetes among general practitioners in France: a randomized design

Abstract

Successful patient education requires planed programs with specific target populations. As general practitioners see 85% of noninsulin-dependent diabetics in France, this study was designed to test the feasibility of the telephone as a method for data collection within the context of a random sample of general practitioners in the Paris region. In addition, data were collected assessing physician's perceptions of various barriers and facilitators to the management of this illness. The study demonstrated the feasibility of phone interviews among general practitioners, as no significant differences were found in response rates or for any single variable collected on the telephone versus "face-to-face". Treatment patterns were described and results indicated that 77% of general practitioners agreed to participate in a subsequent study and, of these 93% agreed to the participation of their noninsulin-dependent patients.