CPAP survey for undergraduate thesis

[undergradcpap]

Hello,

I am an undergraduate student, working on making improvements to the CPAP mask for my thesis. I have created a survey with 10 questions regarding areas of discomfort and dislike, which I would appreciate if anyone filled out. Please note, this is an anonymous survey. This survey can be found at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=k ... l1lg_3d_3d

The questions are listed below:

1. Is discomfort a significant deterrent to using your CPAP system?

2. Where do you experience discomfort when using your CPAP mask?
a. Contact Area
b. Skin surrounding contact area
c. Neck
d. Eyes
e. Noise
f. Pressure from straps, or attachments
g. Air Flow
h. Cumbersome to use
i. Aesthetics
3. Which area has the most discomfort?

4. What percentage of the night do you use your CPAP system in a week?

5. Can you please specify the brand and model of your current CPAP mask?

6. Have you used other CPAP mask models or brands previously? If so, please name the brand and model.

7. If so, why did you change?

8. Do you still experience sleep apnea symptoms such as daytime fatigue and difficulty concentrating?

9. Have you used any alternatives to CPAP to treat your sleep apnea? If so, what?

10. If you could change one feature on the CPAP mask what would it be?

11. Please list any other major concerns you might have that were not addressed in this survey:

[DreamStalker]

You left out the most important factor ... mask leaks!

Also, a couple of your questions are set up so that you will not be able to statistically quantify them such as #10 and #11 ... you will get all kinds of answers for those. #9 has nothing to do with a CPAP mask. Almost everyone here has used more than one mask (or will) ... so again you will get all kinds of answers for which you will have difficulty quantifying #s 6 and 7.

My advice is to go back to the drawing board and read your text book on how to develop a useful survey that will allow you to quantify the expected answers and make sense of the results.

[Hambone]

I'll bet you would find a correlation between High pressures and Mask discomfort.....

Pressure could also create high leak rates or at least add to the leak rate.

Not poking holes here just want to help.

[mindy]

Hi undergrad,

A good try. A couple of suggestions:

First and foremost: what is your research question??? Are you trying to find factors that affect compliance?

No matter what your research question, you should collect at least some demographic data such as age and gender.

If you are looking at compliance, there are many factors ... just a few off the top of my head:
1. How long using cpap
2. How much support in learning to use it and getting adjusted
3. Pressure (or pressure range) of machine would be helpful
4. "8. Have you used any alternatives to CPAP to treat your sleep apnea? If so, what?" I'd ask that as a Yes/No first and then ask for text.
5. Some of us keep multiple masks around so that when one is annoying we switch to another. So your mask question is a little too limiting and will be too difficult to analyze. You might ask about primary mask and allow for one or two secondary masks.
6. All masks leak. So it's more an issue of how much the mask leaks and how annoying it is. For example, if a mask leak squirts air into my eye, it will definitely wake me up. There is a big difference between an expected leak range and a large leak.
7. For mask brand question, I would probably make a drop-down list and allow for "other, please specify" besides. Then list all the major masks. I'd probably allow for 3 masks and ask for approximate % of time on each. You need to know mask type (FF, nasal pillows, nasal prongs, etc). Either ask or do your surfing and make sure you know.

If you are trying to come up with some conclusions about masks, you will need to dig deeper (and this may not be very satisfactory).

There is no one mask that will work for everyone so it's a highly individual issue. You won't, for example, be able to determine if certain masks are better than others. Some people modify their masks so that will affect things, too. If you want to pursue this issue, perhaps a question such as "have you modified your mask or how you wear your mask?" would help.

Is this a research project? If so, be sure to think very carefully about the issues and plan on how you are going to analyze the data before you actually start the study!

Mindy

[Wulfman]

Also.....
What group is your survey intended to reach?

How do you plan to publicize this survey? (to get respondents to answer your questions)

The "knowledgeable" users will probably have found a good/useable mask and may not do the survey.....IF they can even find it.

It's the "less-than-successful" users that seem to be whom the questions are being addressed......and it's doubtful that they'll be filling in this survey. Many probably don't have Internet access or they're totally dependent on their medical professionals for help (COUGH, COUGH)......or they have given up (probably because of the LACK of help from their medical professionals).

In other words, I think there's (at least) a fundamental problem with your survey.

Den

[Perchancetodream]

It sounds like this survey has been designed to confirm an existing hypothesis. Have you already decided what you think is needed in a CPAP mask to enhance compliance?

Also, please modify question number 5.

5. Can you please specify the brand and model of your current CPAP mask?

As currently worded, it makes me want to respond yes, and then go to the next question. You can easily drop the first two words. If people can't specify the brand and model, they won't. (Little things like that make me crazy, which says more about me than it does about your survey! )

Good luck on the survey, I hope that if you do revise it you will give us the opportunity to retake it.

Susan

[mindy]

Also.....
What group is your survey intended to reach?

How do you plan to publicize this survey? (to get respondents to answer your questions)

The "knowledgeable" users will probably have found a good/useable mask and may not do the survey.....IF they can even find it.

It's the "less-than-successful" users that seem to be whom the questions are being addressed......and it's doubtful that they'll be filling in this survey. Many probably don't have Internet access or they're totally dependent on their medical professionals for help (COUGH, COUGH)......or they have given up (probably because of the LACK of help from their medical professionals).

In other words, I think there's (at least) a fundamental problem with your survey.

Den

Den,

I agree with your point ... it's an issue with web surveys that lots of researchers have argued about ... a self-selection bias.

Mindy