Online market research panel members as controls in case-control studies to investigate gastrointestinal disease outbreaks: early experiences and lessons learnt from the UK


Mook, P, McCormick, J, Kanagarajah, S, Adak, GK, Cleary, P, Elson, R, Gobin, M, Hawker, J, Inns, T, Sinclair, C et al (show 3 more authors) (2018) Online market research panel members as controls in case-control studies to investigate gastrointestinal disease outbreaks: early experiences and lessons learnt from the UK EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION, 146 (4). pp. 458-464. ISSN 0950-2688, 1469-4409

[thumbnail of Panel controls_early experiences_EI_TextTable.docx] Text
Panel controls_early experiences_EI_TextTable.docx - Author Accepted Manuscript
Download (84kB)

Abstract

Established methods of recruiting population controls for case-control studies to investigate gastrointestinal disease outbreaks can be time consuming, resulting in delays in identifying the source or vehicle of infection. After an initial evaluation of using online market research panel members as controls in a case-control study to investigate a Salmonella outbreak in 2013, this method was applied in four further studies in the UK between 2014 and 2016. We used data from all five studies and interviews with members of each outbreak control team and market research panel provider to review operational issues, evaluate risk of bias in this approach and consider methods to reduce confounding and bias. The investigators of each outbreak reported likely time and cost savings from using market research controls. There were systematic differences between case and control groups in some studies but no evidence that conclusions on the likely source or vehicle of infection were incorrect. Potential selection biases introduced by using this sampling frame and the low response rate are unclear. Methods that might reduce confounding and some bias should be balanced with concerns for overmatching. Further evaluation of this approach using comparisons with traditional methods and population-based exposure survey data is recommended.© Cambridge University Press 2018 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Case-control studies, epidemiologic research design, gastrointestinal infections, outbreaks
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 01 Dec 2017 16:15
Last Modified: 22 May 2026 18:22
DOI: 10.1017/S0950268817002953
Related Websites:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3013322
Disclaimer: The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.
Altmetric
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)