*308. Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Techniques in VA Research

AB Lanto, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence; E Bloomfield, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence; RAND; B Simon, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence; EM Yano, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence; SE Sherman, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence; LV Rubenstein, VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center of Excellence

Objectives: The workshop objectives are to: (a) describe the strengths and weaknesses of alternate methods of survey administration for VA patients, providers and organizations (e.g., mailout, in-person, telephone, self vs. interviewer-administered, computer-assisted telephone interview administered); (b) provide an orientation to available computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) programs and a framework for evaluation; and (c) provide a practicum on sample development, survey development and field operations (e.g., launching and monitoring survey operations, production reports, etc.) using CATI techniques.

Activities: Workshop participants will be provided with a useful didactic overview of survey administration options and the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives based on the type of respondent (e.g., patient, provider, clinical leader, group respondents) and survey purpose. Multiple examples from recent surveys will be used to exemplify each principal survey administration issue for health services researchers. Key evaluation criteria for assessing CATI programs will be presented. Participants will be encouraged to describe examples and issues from their own survey research efforts. Once the audience has been provided with an overview of survey administration issues and the implications of computer-assisted telephone interviewing for VA HSR&D, workshop leaders will demonstrate methods for drawing and recruiting VA survey samples, for online survey development, and for online survey administration. Participants will be able to observe and query investigators about actual CATI screens from an ongoing VA HSR&D-funded study, where random samples of veterans across 20 VA's have been screened for smoking behavior and subsequently enrolled into a longitudinal cohort study for evaluation of smoking cessation guideline implementation. The workshop will conclude with a brief overview of the state-of-the-art in survey data collection in terms of web-based, email and other modes made possible by technological advances.

Target Audience: HSR&D investigators interested in a general overview of survey administration techniques, with specific emphasis on computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).

Audience Familiarity: General familiarity with survey design and development is preferred; no familiarity with computer-assisted telephone interviewing is necessary.