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Participation rates of childhood cancer survivors to self‐administered questionnaires: a systematic review
Author(s) -
Kilsdonk E.,
Wendel E.,
Dulmenden Broeder E.,
Leeuwen F.E.,
Berg M.H.,
Jaspers M.W.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.12462
Subject(s) - medicine , cinahl , family medicine , ethnic group , gerontology , physical therapy , nursing , psychological intervention , sociology , anthropology
This review aimed to assess participation rates of childhood cancer survivors ( CCS ) invited to fill out a health‐related questionnaire. Additionally, effects of study and CCS characteristics on participation rates were examined. PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid ( EMBASE ) and CINAHL databases were searched. Publications included were questionnaire‐based studies among CCS diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21, alive at least 5 years past diagnosis and aged 16 years or older at the time of study. Thirty‐five studies were included; the median participation rate was 65%. Sixteen studies reported information about CCS actively declining participation (median rate 5%). Five study characteristics seemed to influence participation rates: the use of reminders and incentives, the option to answer a shortened questionnaire, the recruitment of participants through their general practitioner and a pre‐notification before sending out the questionnaire. Furthermore, CCS characteristics related to improved participation were female gender, Caucasian ethnicity and a higher educational level. The results of this study will help to improve the (methodological) quality of future questionnaire‐based studies among CCS , thereby increasing our knowledge about late effects among this group of survivors.