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. 2022 May 19;14(5):e25146.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.25146. eCollection 2022 May.

Survey Response Rates to a Self-Initiated Longitudinal Survey Accessed by a Quick Response Code in Six Different Regions of the United States

Lloyd M Halpern  1 , De-An Zhang  2 , Abby Velarde  3
Affiliations

Survey Response Rates to a Self-Initiated Longitudinal Survey Accessed by a Quick Response Code in Six Different Regions of the United States

Lloyd M Halpern et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background A quick response (QR) code allows rapid access to an online survey via a smartphone and may improve response rates for web-based surveys. We report the response rates for a QR code-based, self-initiated, longitudinal survey of opioid use and pain scores following hospital discharge in pediatric surgical patients. Methodology All parents of pediatric patients who underwent surgery at one of six pediatric medical facilities were asked to participate in the study from October 5, 2020, until July 15, 2021. Those who chose to participate accessed the initial enrollment survey using a QR code on a handout provided. The next day they received an emailed link to a daily survey until their child was not requiring opioids and had pain scores of less than 4 for the previous 48 hours. Results A total of 1,759 families were asked to participate in the study. The parents of 44 patients completed the initial enrollment survey by accessing the QR code (response rate of 2.5%). Of those who completed the initial survey, 67% were lost to follow-up during the survey series. Conclusions We found an extremely low response rate for a self-initiated survey accessed by QR code. Additionally, we found a drop in the response rate with each successive daily email-based survey. At the end of the survey series, the majority of the initial participants had dropped out. We recommend using alternative modalities (informed consent, telephone call, weekly surveys) for initiating and delivering surveys to improve response rates for similarly designed studies.

Keywords: orthopedics; pediatrics; qr code; response rates; survey response.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study schema.
QR: quick response
Figure 2
Figure 2. Survey handout with the quick response code.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Page two of the survey handout with the quick response code.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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