Guidance produced by the BHBIA Fieldwork Forum in collaboration with EphMRA

We are delighted to provide a Screener Design and Best Practice guide, produced through a collaboration between the BHBIA Fieldwork Forum and EphMRA Fieldwork Forum, with a view to raising standards across the whole healthcare market research industry.

Purpose of this guide:

• To act as a reference aid for those designing/implementing screeners to meet their research needs whilst avoiding unnecessary fieldwork complications well ahead of the point of fieldwork going live.
• To act as a safeguard for future respondent engagement - we know as an industry that screeners are one of the key frustrations cited by respondents for lack of MR engagement and will affect future participation.

The need to improve our screening practices is the top recommendation of the BHBIA's Response Rate Task Force in their new report: Reversing the decline in HCP participation. This Screener Design & Best Practice guide provides practical guidance to help you implement their recommendations.

The principles listed throughout this guide are styled as general recommendations; a point at which to begin and consider. We have modelled our principles on those question types that most frequently appear in screeners. Our hope therefore is that this is reflected as practical ‘how to’ guidance. They are designed to be of use to any member of the healthcare business intelligence community who has an interest in helping to ensure market research fieldwork success.

Throughout this guide emphasis should be placed on using the fieldwork provider in a consultative capacity when there are elements of uncertainty surrounding best practice or for factoring in considerations that are in the project’s best interests when it comes to screening.

The core principle in producing this guide is the overall duty of care and respect for respondents.

Key considerations:

• The screener respects the respondent’s willingness to participate in MR.
• Respondents are not unnecessarily screened out.
• The screener is no longer than required by the research objectives.
• Respondents understand why they have been screened out.

Download the full screener guidance document