Face-to-face interviews versus Internet surveys: Comparison of two data collection methods in the Rome foundation global epidemiology study: Implications for population-based research.
Javier Santos, Douglas A Drossman, Magnus Simren, Jan Tack, William E Whitehead, Eamonn M M Quigley, Max Schmulson, Peter Whorwell, Payman Adibi, Luis Bustos Fernandez, Suck Chei Choi, Enrico S Corazziari, Leonid Lazebnik, Shrikant I Bangdiwala, Mashiko Setshedi, Reuben K Wong, Aurelio Lopez-Colombo, Rutaba Khatun, Pierre Poitras, Oksana Stefanyuk, Sandie Thomson, Murat Buyruk, Nalan Unal, Dan Huang, Johann P Hreinsson, Olafur S Palsson, Carlos Francisconi, Ami D Sperber, Agata Mulak, Uday C Ghoshal, Dan L Dumitrascu, Xuicai Fang, Shin Fukudo, John Kellow, Edith Okeke, Timothy Archampong, Viola Andresen, Marc A Benninga, Bruno Bonaz, Albis Hani, Yeong Yeh Lee, M Masudur Rahman, Ari Fahrial Syam, Stephen Vanner, Valeria Costa, Ram Dickman, Motoyori Kanazawa, Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli, Iradj Maleki, Nitesh Pratap, Jun Song, Serhat Bor
Journal: Neurogastroenterology and motility
2023;35(6):e14583
PMID: 37018412
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study (RFGES) assessed the prevalence, burden, and associated factors of Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) in 33 countries around the world. Achieving worldwide sampling necessitated use of two different surveying methods: In-person household interviews (9 countries) and Internet surveys (26 countries). Two countries, China and Turkey, were surveyed with both methods. This paper examines the differences in the survey results with the two methods, as well as likely reasons for those differences.
METHODS
The two RFGES survey methods are described in detail, and differences in DGBI findings summarized for household versus Internet surveys globally, and in more detail for China and Turkey. Logistic regression analysis was used to elucidate factors contributing to these differences.
RESULTS
Overall, DGBI were only half as prevalent when assessed with household vs Internet surveys. Similar patterns of methodology-related DGBI differences were seen within both China and Turkey, but prevalence differences between the survey methods were dramatically larger in Turkey. No clear reasons for outcome differences by survey method were identified, although greater relative reduction in bowel and anorectal versus upper gastrointestinal disorders when household versus Internet surveying was used suggests an inhibiting influence of social sensitivity.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings strongly indicate that besides affecting data quality, manpower needs and data collection time and costs, the choice of survey method is a substantial determinant of symptom reporting and DGBI prevalence outcomes. This has important implications for future DGBI research and epidemiological research more broadly.
© 2023 The Authors. Neurogastroenterology & Motility published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Address:
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.; Ege University School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.; Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.; Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.; Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina, Center for Education and Practice of Biopsychosocial Care, and Drossman Gastroenterology, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.; Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, India.; Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.; Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.; Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.; Department of Behavioral Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.; Discipline of Medicine, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Department of Medicine, University of Jos, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.; Lynda K and David M Underwood Center for Digestive Disorder, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Houston Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, Texas, USA.; Laboratory of Liver, Pancreas and Motility (HIPAM), Unit of Research in Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico.; Neurogastroenterology Unit, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.; Department of Medicine, University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry, Accra, Ghana.; Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.; Department of Medicine, Israelitic Hospital, Hamburg, Germany.; Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, CHU Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.; Centro Medico Dr. Bustos Fernandez", Buenos Aires, Argentina.; Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, South Korea.; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Italy.; Department of Internal Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Gastroenterology Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.; Gastroenterology Unit, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.; Department of Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Internal Medicine, Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russia.; School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.; Dhaka Medical College & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.; Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Autonomous University of Barcelona & Neuro-Inmuno-Gastroenterology Lab, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain & Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERHED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia/Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia.; Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Kingston Health Science Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.; Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.; UMAE Hospital de Especialidades C.M.N. Manuel Avila Camacho, Puebla, Pue, Mexico.; Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv, Israel.; CEGIIR-Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.; Gut and Liver Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.; CHUM, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.; KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, India.; Department of Gastroenterology, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China.; Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
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