Online survey
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Online (Internet) surveys are becoming an essential research tool for a variety of research fields, including marketing, social and official statistics research. According to ESOMAR online survey research accounted for 20% of global data-collection expenditure in 2006.
They offer capabilities beyond those available for any other type of self-administered questionnaire.
Online consumer panels are also used extensively for carrying out surveys but the quality is considered inferior because the panelists are regular contributors and tend to be fatigued. However, when estimating the measurement quality (defined as product of reliability and validity) using a multitrait-mutlimethod approach (MTMM), some studies found a quite reasonable quality and even that the quality of a series of questions in an online opt-in panel (Netquest) was very similar to the measurement quality for the same questions asked in the European Social Survey (ESS), which is a face-to-face survey.
The lead neuro-oncologist, neuroradiologist and neurosurgeon from every UK neuro-oncology centre were invited to complete an online survey. Participants were asked about current and ideal imaging practices following initial treatment.
Ninety-two participants from all 31 neuro-oncology centres completed the survey (100% response rate). Most centres routinely performed an early post-operative MRI (87%, 27/31), whereas only a third performed a pre-radiotherapy MRI (32%, 10/31). The number and timing of scans routinely performed during adjuvant TMZ treatment varied widely between centres. At the end of the adjuvant period, most centres performed an MRI (71%, 22/31), followed by monitoring scans at 3 monthly intervals (81%, 25/31). Additional short-interval imaging was carried out in cases of possible pseudoprogression in most centres (71%, 22/31). Routine use of advanced imaging was infrequent; however, the addition of advanced sequences was the most popular suggestion for ideal imaging practice, followed by changes in the timing of Early postoperative magnetic resonance imaging.
Variations in neuroimaging practices exist after initial glioblastoma treatment within the UK. Multicentre, longitudinal, prospective trials are needed to define the optimal imaging schedule for assessment 1).
Soriano Sánchez et al. performed an internet-based survey of the presidents of the societies of the FLANC to obtain the neurosurgical workforce characteristics and demographics in their countries. They coded and blindly analyzed the information for dispersion measures and graphics using SPSS, version 25, and Microsoft Excel for map density building. They obtained ratios for the number of neurosurgeons/100,000 inhabitants and the inverse ratio (the number of inhabitants/1 neurosurgeon).
They obtained information from 19 countries. The population totaled 650,008,765 inhabitants. The workforce included 9100 neurosurgeons for a composite within the FLANC of 1.4 neurosurgeons/100,000 inhabitants. The mean ratio among individual countries was 1.17, with as many as 9 countries having a ratio of <1 neurosurgeon/100,000 inhabitants. The proportion of female neurosurgeons in the FLANC was 9.54%. Seven countries had no neurosurgeons in a range of subspecialty fields.
The FLANC has significant disparities in neurosurgical workforce ratios among the member countries. Central American countries probably have the greatest needs. Gender equity should also be improved among the training institutions. We encourage readers to develop future research into the local geographical distribution of neurosurgeons among the countries to better understand their needs and barriers to providing high-quality standards of care 2).
A online survey of practising radiation oncologists from Korea, China and Japan was conducted to investigate the current practices in radiotherapy (RT) for spine metastases and to compare these practices across the three countries. The questionnaire included nine general information questions and two clinical scenarios (representing 'typical' and 'good' prognosis spine metastases), with seven questions for each scenario. An anonymous web-based survey using Google Docs® was undertaken from 2 September 2014 to 9 April 2015. A total of 54 Korean, 107 Chinese and 104 Japanese radiation oncologists participated in the study. The first scenario involved a typical case of spine metastases (~25% expected 1-year survival rate), and the preferred fractionation scheme was 10 fractions of 3 Gy, though the pattern was slightly different in each country. The second scenario involved a good prognosis case (>50% expected 1-year survival rate), and 10 fractions of 3 Gy was the preferred practice in all three countries (however, use of a larger fraction dose with a smaller fraction number was more common in Korea). A more conformal RT technique was more prominent in China and Korea, especially for patients with a good prognosis. Avoidance of reirradiation was notable in China. In summary, a preference for multiple fractionation in RT for spine metastases was observed in the majority of Korean, Chinese and Japanese radiation oncologists, although there were slight differences in practice preferences, especially for patients with a favorable prognosis 3).