Evaluation of general practice care by chronically ill patients: Effect of the method of administration

Background. Although the patient survey has become a popular method for learning about patients' views and experiences, little attention has been paid to the validity and feasibility of different survey methods. Objective. A study was undertaken to compare handing out written questionnaires to chronically ill patients who consecutively visited the general practice with mailing questionnaires to chronically ill patients who were sampled from the patient register. Method. Patient surveys were performed in eight general practices in The Netherlands, applying both methods of administering the questionnaire to patients in each practice (n = 345). Results. The response rate was 63% in the mail survey and 72% in the hand-distributed survey. The sample composition was almost equal, except that patients in the hand-distributed survey more often reported having 'a different chronic disease'. The item-response for each aspect of care was similar in both methods of administration. Conclusion. Patients in the mail survey tended to use the extreme categories on the scale for certain aspects of care more often than patients in the hand-distributed survey, but the overall trend was not significant.