Address-Based Sampling for Recruiting Rural Subpopulations: A 2-Phase, Multimode Approach.

PURPOSE: This article describes recruitment of a subpopulation of women in a rural area, extending an existing method of a 2-phase address-based sampling protocol to include a mixed-mode approach.

METHODS: Phase 1 included a household enumeration questionnaire mailed to randomly selected households (n = 1,950) in 3 Ohio Appalachian counties to identify members of the eligible subgroup. The second phase of recruitment involved contacting 1 randomly selected eligible woman enumerated by each household, based on return of the questionnaire. These women (n = 599) were invited by field interviewers to participate in a one-time in-person health survey.

FINDINGS: Of the women invited to participate, a total of 408 completed the interview. Based on American Association for Public Opinion Research Response Rate 1 calculations, the response rates were 44.4% and 70.3% for phases 1 and 2, respectively. Response rates in this study were encouraging, especially for the second phase in-person interview.

CONCLUSION: We discuss implications for future research using a mixed-mode approach in this subpopulation.