Tag Archives: survey

When to quote survey results: How to judge quality and recognize red flags

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Courtney Kennedy (Photo courtesy of the Pew Research Center)

Journalists often include survey results in a story to offer a sense of public opinion. But not all surveys are created equal, and some should be avoided at all costs. 

In a recent phone interview, Courtney Kennedy, vice president of survey research and innovation at the Pew Research Center, a “nonpartisan fact tank,” shared advice with me on how to judge survey quality. 

A longer version of our conversation, which was edited for length and clarity, can be found at The Freelance Center. 

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Barbara Mantel (@BJMantel), an independent journalist, is AHCJ’s freelance community correspondent. Her work has appeared in CQ Researcher, Rural Health Quarterly, Undark, Healthline, NBCNews.com and NPR, among others. She helps members find the resources they need to succeed as freelancers and welcomes your suggestions.

Prizes go to AHCJ membership survey raffle winners

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Dear AHCJ members,

In April we asked for your feedback for a membershipwide survey on AHCJ’s benefits and offerings – and you delivered! We are grateful for all who took the opportunity to lend your voice to the future of our organization.

The winners of our two random participation raffles are below. Congratulations! Continue reading →

Andrew Smiley is the executive director of AHCJ and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, and an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. Smiley comes to AHCJ from a sports broadcasting background, including nearly a decade at the Golf Channel/NBC Sports and a decade at ESPN, where he won an Emmy.

Letter to AHCJ members: Seeking your input through our survey

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Dear AHCJ members,

As a membership organization, we want to make sure we are offering the best possible resources to journalists. With that said, it has been some time since we have conducted a member-wide survey to gather your thoughts on AHCJ’s benefits and offerings. Well, the time has come and we need your feedback. Let us know what we are doing well, and what processes, resources and benefits could use some work.

The survey will only take about 10 minutes to complete, and you can do it from your phone or computer.

At the end, register for one our raffles. You can enter to win free registration to the Health Journalism 2021 conference, or a $100 gift card. We will select 10 winners for each raffle. Continue reading →

Andrew Smiley is the executive director of AHCJ and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, and an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. Smiley comes to AHCJ from a sports broadcasting background, including nearly a decade at the Golf Channel/NBC Sports and a decade at ESPN, where he won an Emmy.

Quality data on ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient services available

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As my colleague Joyce Frieden reported for MedPage Today on Tuesday, in 2020, reporters will be able to compare the quality of some hospital outpatient departments and some ambulatory surgical centers for the first time, using metrics that are somewhat similar to those used to check up on hospital quality.

After all, some 60% of surgical procedures today are performed in an outpatient setting, so patients have a right to know what policies and procedures the facility uses to safeguard against errors and complications. Continue reading →

Cheryl Clark (@CherClarHealth) is a MedPage Today contributor and inewsource.org investigative journalist. For most of 27 years, she covered medicine and science for the San Diego Union-Tribune. After taking a buyout in 2008, she became senior quality editor for HealthLeaders Media.

Report shows uninsured rate rises as 4 million lose coverage since 2016

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Image: The Commonwealth Fund

The rate of working-age Americans who lack health insurance rose to 15.5 percent, up from 12.7 percent in 2016, according to a report the Commonwealth Fund published today. The latest Commonwealth Fund ACA Tracking Survey shows an estimated 4 million Americans lost health insurance coverage since 2016.

The report is based on a telephone survey of working-age Americans that was done from Feb. 6 to March 30. The analysis to track the uninsured rate is the first one of 2018, the report says. Continue reading →

Joseph Burns (@jburns18), an independent journalist who resides in Brewster, Massachusetts, is AHCJ’s topic leader on health reform. He welcomes questions and suggestions and tip sheets at joseph@healthjournalism.org.