Strategies to recruit people with selected nationalities for the interview survey GEDA Fokus

Abstract

Background People with migration history (PMH) are underrepresented within health monitoring at Robert Koch Institute (RKI). To better describe the health status of PHM, the RKI is currently conducting the health interview survey GEDA Fokus with different migrant groups. Aim of this contribution is to present which sub-groups in this sequential mixed-mode survey design are reached by which mode. Methods People aged 18-70 years with Croatian (hr), Italian (it), Polish (pl), Syrian (sy) or Turkish (tr) nationality were drawn out of 99 residents’ registration offices all over Germany (N = 33,436). Study persons were invited sequentially to participate online (saq-web), paper-based(saq-paper) and in person (CAPI) or by telephone (CATI) in Arabic, Croatian, German, Italian, Polish or Turkish. Saq-web was available in German only or bilingual. Data collection took place from November 2021 to April 2022. Per nationality, 1,200 participants were recruited. Results As of 25th of April, 6,197 people took part, most often per saq-web (49%), which was less often used among participants aged ≥ 50 years (35% vs. 56%). Pl participants used saq-web most often in German only (55%), sy participants most often used the bilingual version (77%). Saq-paper was more often used by participants aged ≥ 50 years (41% vs. 22%) and less often by tr (21%) and sy (24%) participants. Participants with it nationality most often took part on their own initiative (saq) (92%), while tr (33%) and pl (28%) participants were recruited via personal contact (CAPI/ CATI) more often. Conclusions Preliminary results show that offering multiple modes of administration helps to reach different sub-groups. Personal contact contributes to reach those not directly taking part on their own initiative. The opportunity to utilize the bilingual version of the questionnaire was well accepted, especially among those with presumably shorter duration of residence in Germany. Key messages

COVID-19 vaccination status among people with selected citizenships: results of the study GEDA Fokus

“…In addition, the response rate of 18.4% is lower than in the GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS study of 26.9% [ 74 ], which was also based on a residents’ registration office sample, but targeted the general population. However, the sequential design with several modes of participation in different languages favoured the inclusion of different subgroups, so that a possible bias in the willingness to participate could be well countered [ 75 ]. Particularly with regard to the subject matter of COVID-19 and the reference of the study to the RKI, there is the possibility of a bias in participation due to the sensitivity of the topic, so that people who are rather sceptical about the topic – and thus also about vaccination itself – may have participated less frequently.…”

Health of people with selected citizenships: results of the study GEDA Fokus

“…In addition, the response rate of 18.4% is lower than in the comparable GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS study with 26.9% [ 85 ], which was also based on a residents’ registration office sample but targeted the general population. However, the sequential design with the offer of different participation modes in several languages favoured the inclusion of different subgroups so that a possible bias in the willingness to participate could be well countered [ 86 ].…”