This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miner, M. H. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Miner, M. H. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Preliminary Contact With a Mailed Follow-Up Survey

Effect on Rate of Response of Former Mental Health Patients

St. Louis University

This study examined the effects of preliminary contact by mail and telephone on the rate of response to a follow-up survey offormer mental health patients. The subjects were the par ents or parenting figures of 145 children due for six- or eighteen-month follow-up as part of the evaluation of the services provided at an outpatient child psychiatric facility. The survey instruments were the Child Behavior Checklist and a thirty-one item descriptive adjective rating scale. A significant effect wasfoundfor the use of preliminary contact, but notfor the use of telephone contact rather than mailed precontact. Additionally, it wasfound that it was difficult to contact subjects over the telephone and that telephone precontact was more expensive than mailed precontact. This article also addresses the problem of maintaining patient confidentiality while identifying prospective subjects who had moved since their last visit to the facility for treatment. This balance between study power and former patients' rights to privacy is a difficult question for mental health service evaluations.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?