A pilot study of a computer-assisted cell-phone interview (CACI) methodology to survey respondents in households without telephones about alcohol use

Drug Alcohol Rev. 2003 Jun;22(2):221-5. doi: 10.1080/09595230100100651.

Abstract

An intrinsic drawback with the use of a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey methodology is that people who live in households without a connected landline telephone are excluded from the survey sample. This paper presents a pilot of the feasibility of a computer-assisted cell-phone interview (CACI) methodology designed to survey people living in households without a telephone about alcohol use and be compatible with a larger telephone based alcohol sample. The CACI method was found to be an efficient and cost competitive method to reach non-telephone households. Telephone ownership was found to make a difference to the typical occasion amount of alcohol consumed, with respondents from households without telephones drinking significantly more than those with telephones even when consumption levels were controlled for socio-economic status. Although high levels of telephone ownership in the general population mean these differences may not have any impact on population alcohol measures they may be important in sub-populations where telephone ownership is lower.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Alcoholism / diagnosis
  • Alcoholism / epidemiology*
  • Catchment Area, Health
  • Cell Phone*
  • Computers*
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • New Zealand / epidemiology
  • Ownership / statistics & numerical data*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Telephone / statistics & numerical data*