Using police crash databases for injury prevention research - A comparison of opt-out and opt-in approaches to study recruitment

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to examine the difference in response rates between opt-out and opt-in participant recruitment in a population-based study of heavy-vehicle drivers involved in a police-attended crash. Methods: Two approaches to subject recruitment were implemented in two different states over a 14-week period and response rates for the two approaches (opt-out versus opt-in recruitment) were compared. Results: Based on the eligible and contactable drivers, the response rates were 54% for the opt-out group and 16% for the opt-in group. Conclusions and Implications: The opt-in recruitment strategy (which was a consequence of one jurisdiction's interpretation of the national Privacy A..