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The proportion of missing or invalid responses was low overall (mean 2.1%) but was greater for the postal method than for the interview methods combined (4.1%\n                    <jats:italic>v<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.9%; difference 3.2%, 2.7% to 3.6%, P&lt;0.001). With a few exceptions, levels of self reported morbidity were lower in the interview groups, particularly for interviews by nurses. The sensitivity of the self reported measures was lower in the nurse interview group for three out of four domains, but 95% confidence intervals for the estimates overlapped. Specificity of the self reported measures varied little by method of administration.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>Conclusions:<\/jats:bold>\n                    Postal questionnaires were associated with higher response rates but also higher proportions of missing values than were interview methods. Lower estimates of self reported morbidity were obtained with the nurse interview method and to a lesser extent with the lay interview method than with postal questionnaires.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:boxed-text position=\"float\">\n                      <jats:sec>\n                        <jats:title>What is already known on this topic<\/jats:title>\n                        <jats:p>The optimum method of administering a brief multidimensional screening assessment to elderly people is not known<\/jats:p>\n                      <\/jats:sec>\n                      <jats:sec>\n                        <jats:title>What this study adds<\/jats:title>\n                        <jats:p>Postal questionnaires produce a higher response rate than interviews by nurses or lay interviewers but also higher proportions of missing data<\/jats:p>\n                        <jats:p>Interview by nurses and to a lesser degree by lay interviewers is associated with lower levels of self reported morbidity than are postal questionnaires<\/jats:p>\n                      <\/jats:sec>\n                    <\/jats:boxed-text>\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.323.7326.1403","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2002,7,27]],"date-time":"2002-07-27T06:32:19Z","timestamp":1027751539000},"page":"1403","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":64,"title":["Randomised comparison of three methods of administering a screening questionnaire to elderly people: findings from the MRC trial of the assessment and management of older people in the community"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"323","author":[{"given":"Liam","family":"Smeeth","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Astrid E","family":"Fletcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susan","family":"Stirling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Breeze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edmond","family":"Ng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher J","family":"Bulpitt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dee","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2001,12,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025122111281115000_323.7326.1403.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(55)92229-7","article-title":"A consultative health centre for older people: the Rutherglen experiment.","volume":"ii","author":"Anderson","year":"1955","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2025122111281115000_323.7326.1403.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1117","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(64)91803-3","article-title":"Old people at home: their unreported needs.","volume":"i","author":"Williamson","year":"1964","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2025122111281115000_323.7326.1403.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"945","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011740","article-title":"Multidimensional assessment of elderly people in the community.","volume":"54","author":"Fletcher","year":"1998","journal-title":"Br Med Bull"},{"key":"2025122111281115000_323.7326.1403.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.320.7237.754"},{"key":"2025122111281115000_323.7326.1403.5","unstructured":"Bowling A .Data collection methods in quantitative research: questionnaires, interviews and their response rates. 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