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Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention

BACKGROUND: Visual analogue scales (VASs) have been shown to be valid measurement instruments and a better alternative to Likert-type scales in Internet-based research, both empirically and theoretically [1,2]. Upsides include more differentiated responses, better measurement level, and less error....

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Autores principales: Kuhlmann, Tim, Reips, Ulf-Dietrich, Wienert, Julian, Lippke, Sonia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27334562
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5271
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author Kuhlmann, Tim
Reips, Ulf-Dietrich
Wienert, Julian
Lippke, Sonia
author_facet Kuhlmann, Tim
Reips, Ulf-Dietrich
Wienert, Julian
Lippke, Sonia
author_sort Kuhlmann, Tim
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Visual analogue scales (VASs) have been shown to be valid measurement instruments and a better alternative to Likert-type scales in Internet-based research, both empirically and theoretically [1,2]. Upsides include more differentiated responses, better measurement level, and less error. Their feasibility and properties in the context of eHealth, however, have not been examined so far. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined VASs in the context of a lifestyle study conducted online, measuring the impact of VASs on distributional properties and non-response. METHOD: A sample of 446 participants with a mean age of 52.4 years (standard deviation (SD) = 12.1) took part in the study. The study was carried out as a randomized controlled trial, aimed at supporting participants over 8 weeks with an additional follow-up measurement. In addition to the randomized questionnaire, participants were further randomly assigned to either a Likert-type or VAS response scale version of the measures. RESULTS: Results showed that SDs were lower for items answered via VASs, 2P (Y ≥ 47 | n=55, P=.5) < .001. Means did not differ across versions. Participants in the VAS version showed lower dropout rates than participants in the Likert version, odds ratio = 0.75, 90% CI (0.58-0.98), P=.04. Number of missing values did not differ between questionnaire versions. CONCLUSIONS: The VAS is shown to be a valid instrument in the eHealth context, offering advantages over Likert-type scales. The results of the study provide further support for the use of VASs in Internet-based research, extending the scope to senior samples in the health context. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01909349; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01909349 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6h88sLw2Y)
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spelling pubmed-49357902016-07-18 Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention Kuhlmann, Tim Reips, Ulf-Dietrich Wienert, Julian Lippke, Sonia J Med Internet Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: Visual analogue scales (VASs) have been shown to be valid measurement instruments and a better alternative to Likert-type scales in Internet-based research, both empirically and theoretically [1,2]. Upsides include more differentiated responses, better measurement level, and less error. Their feasibility and properties in the context of eHealth, however, have not been examined so far. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined VASs in the context of a lifestyle study conducted online, measuring the impact of VASs on distributional properties and non-response. METHOD: A sample of 446 participants with a mean age of 52.4 years (standard deviation (SD) = 12.1) took part in the study. The study was carried out as a randomized controlled trial, aimed at supporting participants over 8 weeks with an additional follow-up measurement. In addition to the randomized questionnaire, participants were further randomly assigned to either a Likert-type or VAS response scale version of the measures. RESULTS: Results showed that SDs were lower for items answered via VASs, 2P (Y ≥ 47 | n=55, P=.5) < .001. Means did not differ across versions. Participants in the VAS version showed lower dropout rates than participants in the Likert version, odds ratio = 0.75, 90% CI (0.58-0.98), P=.04. Number of missing values did not differ between questionnaire versions. CONCLUSIONS: The VAS is shown to be a valid instrument in the eHealth context, offering advantages over Likert-type scales. The results of the study provide further support for the use of VASs in Internet-based research, extending the scope to senior samples in the health context. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01909349; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01909349 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6h88sLw2Y) JMIR Publications 2016-06-22 /pmc/articles/PMC4935790/ /pubmed/27334562 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5271 Text en ©Tim Kuhlmann, Ulf-Dietrich Reips, Julian Wienert, Sonia Lippke. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 22.06.2016. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Kuhlmann, Tim
Reips, Ulf-Dietrich
Wienert, Julian
Lippke, Sonia
Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title_full Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title_fullStr Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title_full_unstemmed Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title_short Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention
title_sort using visual analogue scales in ehealth: non-response effects in a lifestyle intervention
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27334562
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5271
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