Inpatient Experience Survey 2018: technical report
This report provides information on the technical aspects of the 2018 Inpatient Experience Survey, including development, implementation, analysis and reporting.
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7. Survey Response
Overview
The response rate for the survey is the number of completed questionnaires returned as a percentage of the number of people in the sample. In total, 51,440 surveys were sent out and 20,809 were returned completed, giving an overall response rate of 40 per cent. This is slightly lower than the response rate for the 2016 survey, which was 41 per cent [6] .
This section describes the differences in response rates by a range of variables. Many of these differences were also evident in previous surveys, and were taken into account when the sample sizes were calculated – see Section 4 on Sample Design for more information about this.
Response Rates by NHS Board
Table 5: Response rate by NHS Board
| NHS Board | Total no. of forms sent out | Number of responses | Response rate | Expected response rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 4,788 | 1,872 | 39% | 39% |
| NHS Borders | 706 | 322 | 46% | 48% |
| NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 2,753 | 1,185 | 43% | 43% |
| NHS Fife | 1,651 | 646 | 39% | 37% |
| NHS Forth Valley | 1,151 | 451 | 39% | 43% |
| Golden Jubilee Foundation | 913 | 644 | 71% | 69% |
| NHS Grampian | 5,912 | 2,785 | 47% | 48% |
| NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 16,624 | 5,761 | 35% | 37% |
| NHS Highland | 5,018 | 2,321 | 46% | 47% |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 2,922 | 1,013 | 35% | 37% |
| NHS Lothian | 5,615 | 2,298 | 41% | 45% |
| NHS Orkney | 237 | 122 | 51% | 56% |
| NHS Shetland | 326 | 151 | 46% | 42% |
| NHS Tayside | 2,369 | 1,030 | 43% | 47% |
| NHS Western Isles | 455 | 208 | 46% | 50% |
| Scotland | 51,440 | 20,809 | 40% | 42% |
The highest response rate for an NHS Board was the Golden Jubilee Foundation (71 per cent) and the lowest response rates were for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire ( Table 5).
Response Rate by Deprivation
Respondents were assigned to a deprivation quintile based on their postcode using the 2016 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ( SIMD) [7] . As seen in previous surveys, the response rate was lower for people living in more deprived areas. The response rate ranged from 29 per cent for people living in the most deprived areas to 50 per cent for people living in the least deprived areas (Table 6).
Table 6: Response rate by deprivation quintile
| SIMD Quintile | Total number of forms sent out | Number of Responses | Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Most deprived) | 12,511 | 3,651 | 29% |
| 2 | 11,199 | 4,307 | 38% |
| 3 | 11,023 | 4,754 | 43% |
| 4 | 9,278 | 4,371 | 47% |
| 5 (Least deprived) | 7,429 | 3,726 | 50% |
| Scotland | 51,440 | 20,809 | 40% |
Response Rate by Urban / Rural Location
Respondents were assigned to an Urban / Rural category based on their postcode using the Scottish Government's 2016 six-fold Urban / Rural classification [8] . The response rate ranged from 35 per cent of people living in large urban areas to 50 per cent of people living in remote rural areas (Table 7).
Table 7: Response rate by urban / rural location
| Urban / Rural Category | Total number of forms sent out | Number of Responses | Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large urban areas | 16,145 | 5,661 | 35% |
| Other urban areas | 17,813 | 7,010 | 39% |
| Accessible small towns | 4,225 | 1,830 | 43% |
| Remote small towns | 3,169 | 1,370 | 43% |
| Accessible rural | 5,007 | 2,389 | 48% |
| Remote rural | 5,081 | 2,549 | 50% |
| Scotland | 51,440 | 20,809 | 40% |
Response Rate by Age Group
The response rate increased with age up to 75+ and was highest in the 65 to 74 age group (57 per cent). This compared to a response rate of 15 per cent for those aged 25-34 (Table 8).
Table 8: Response rate by age group (derived from CHI number on SMR01)
| Age Group | Total number of forms sent out | Number of Responses | Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 to 24 | 2,765 | 445 | 16% |
| 25 to 34 | 3,559 | 531 | 15% |
| 35 to 44 | 4,321 | 1,002 | 23% |
| 45 to 54 | 6,488 | 2,173 | 33% |
| 55 to 64 | 8,021 | 3,826 | 48% |
| 65 to 74 | 9,950 | 5,652 | 57% |
| 75 + | 16,336 | 7,180 | 44% |
| Scotland | 51,440 | 20,809 | 40% |
Response Rate by Gender
The response rate was 40 per cent for males and 41 per cent for females (Table 9).
Table 9: Response rate by gender (derived from CHI number on SMR01)
| Gender | Total number of forms sent out | Number of Responses | Response rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 22,751 | 9,178 | 40% |
| Female | 28,689 | 11,631 | 41% |
| Scotland | 51,440 | 20,809 | 40% |
Method of Response
Of the 20,809 respondents, 88 per cent sent their surveys back by post with almost all of the rest completing the survey online. Eighty-six people completed their survey via the telephone (Table 10).
Table 10: Response by method
| Method | No. of questionnaires completed | % of questionnaires completed |
|---|---|---|
| Online | 2,412 | 12% |
| Post | 18,311 | 88% |
| Telephone helpline | 86 | 0% |
| Language line | 0 | 0% |
| Scotland | 20,809 | 100% |
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