The DRIVE Study is an NHMRC funded longitudinal study examining risk factors for injury in 20,000 NSW drivers aged 17-24 years holding their first provisional driver's licence. The study compared two methods of recruitment. The first method involved mailing potential participants an invitation to either log in to the study web-site where the questionnaire and consent forms could be completed online, or else phone a free-call number for a mailed questionnaire. The second method involved mailing all study material directly to potential participants. Resulting response rates were low. A second pilot was then carried out on 3 groups of 100 participants. Similar methodology was utilised to the first pilot but including a third group who were sent a postcard directing them to the website. There appeared to be a tendency for online participants to be male, urban dwellers as opposed to female rural dwellers completing the print questionnaire. The results from this pilot study demonstrate the challenges of recruiting this important driver population and the use of a novel method (the internet) for data collection. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E210298.
Abstract