The feasibility of a street-intercept survey method in an African-American community.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the feasibility of a nonquota, street-intercept survey method that utilized random selection of interview sites.

METHODS: The street-intercept survey was compared with a random digit-dial telephone survey conducted in the same catchment area among African-American adults aged 18 or older.

RESULTS: The street-intercept survey's response rate was 80.2%; residence rate, 85.3%; interview completion rate, 97.9%; interference rate, 4.0%; and yield rate, 2.5 interviews per interviewer per hour. The street-intercept method produced more representative distributions of age and sex than the random-digit-dial survey.

CONCLUSIONS: The street-intercept method is a feasible alternative to traditional population survey methods and may provide better access to harder-to-reach segments of the urban population in a safe manner.