Temple Registry for the Investigation of African American Gastrointestinal Disease Epidemiology

Treatment Plan

The goal of our survey will be to obtain responses from at least 450 self-described African Americans.

Method From our previous study we found that relying on responses from surveys placed in resident mailboxes (which need to be mailed back to us) is ineffective. For this study we have divided the zip code into roughly four equal quadrants using Broad Street and Erie Avenue as dividers. We will place a flyer in 1000 mail boxes in each quadrant by hand delivery. Hand delivery assures that mailings to vacated buildings will not occur. We hand delivered surveys in our previous study and encountered no problems. This will allow for a balanced representation from the entire zip code (see data collection section for further discussion of this point). The flyer informs the participants that the Temple Gastroenterology department is performing a health survey and gives them a phone number to call if they are interested. This phone is in a locked lab run by the PI. As compensation for their time they will receive $25. Only one subject per household is eligible and interviews can be completed at the hospital or in the participant's home. Only those individuals willing to be contacted in future years for follow-up will be enrolled. Subjects must show an identification verifying that their home address is in the zip code (usually a driver's license).

The overall survey consists of several standardized questionnaires which have been organized into a logical, easy to complete, comprehensive unit. Patients will complete the survey on a laptop which contains all the questions in an easy to read and follow Microsoft Access database file. Essentially no computer skills are needed to complete it except for the use of a mouse. A member of the research team will sit in the room to help the subject if there are questions. This survey is password secured such that when the subject completes the survey they cannot access the responses of other subjects. Answering the last question automatically closes the file.

The individual questionnaires making up the overall survey are included in this packet. Initial questions ask the subject their name, address, contact phone numbers and demographic questions such as income and education level. Subsequent questions are the complete set of questions from standardized questionnaires such as AUDIT for alcohol use assessment. The cornerstones of the survey are the 17 question survey on GERD which covers all components of the Montreal classification, and the 65 questions which make up the Rome III functional bowel disease questionnaire. We estimate it will take participants 30-60 minutes to complete depending on age and educational level.