Data Quality and Age: Health and Psychobehavioral Correlates of Item Nonresponse and Inconsistent Responses

Abstract

This study examined item nonresponse and inconsistent responses (IRs) and their health and psychobehavioral correlates in a population-based survey of adults 65 years and older. We administered an in-person questionnaire concerning physical, social, and psychological health to 1,155 men (mean age = 73.7 years) and 1,942 women (mean age = 74.8 years). Nonresponse rates varied with item topic, and "don't know" (DK) responses were more common than refusals. DKs increased with age of respondent, tended to be more common in women than men, and were associated with poorer physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning. Conversely, IRs increased with age among men but not women, but were also associated with poorer physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning. Results are discussed in terms of motivational and attentional factors, and their implications for survey research with the frail elderly and very old are noted.

Patterns of Unit and Item Nonresponse in the CAHPS® Hospital Survey

“…Several studies have found higher rates of item nonresponse to health surveys among those with poor health, cognitive impairment, or physical impairment (e.g., Colsher and Wallace 1989;Guadagnoli and Cleary 1992). Whereas Colsher and Wallace (1989) found respondent age independently associated with item nonresponse rate among the community-dwelling elderly and Sherbourne and Meredith (1992) found a similar increase in item nonresponse among patients with chronic conditions, Guadagnoli and Cleary (1992) found no independent effect of age among recently discharged surgical patients.…”

Understanding Changing Risk Factor Associations With Increasing Age in Adults

“…For example, there may be altered recall of historical risk factors or prior medical conditions with increasing age, in addition to the longer period of time that is to be recalled. Measured cognitive function has been related to reliability of responses in questionnaire studies of older persons (9). For various reasons, there may be more difficulty with understanding various kinds of questionnaires, computeraided assessment devices, or other data collection modalities.…”

Test–retest repeatability of self-reported environmental exposures in Parkinson's disease cases and healthy controls

“…Firstly, prevalence of PD increases with age, increasing from 0.6% in persons aged 65-69 to 2.6% in those aged 70-80 years 5 . Declining data quality with increasing age has been observed in self-report data from research involving general populations 6 . Secondly, the onset of PD is a slow and insidious process commencing some time prior to development of noticeable motor symptoms 7,26,27 .…”