Improving Survey Response Rates among American Indian Mothers in Montana

Full Description: The gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Americans remains unacceptably wide. This project evaluates the Montana Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to improve survey engagement with American Indian populations and reduce the maternal health gap. PRAMS is a random, population-based survey of Montana mothers about maternal behaviors and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy. To ensure the survey is representative of the Montana postpartum population it is essential that Montana meets the response rate overall and for each stratum oversampled. Montana has oversampled American Indian mothers since the survey was implemented in 2017, however, response rates for this stratum are consistently 40% and lower. Race and geography intersect in Montana, with residents of noncore (i.e. rural) counties being more likely to use P.O. boxes and American Indian mothers being more likely to live in noncore counties than non-American Indian mothers. This project highlights a quantitative analysis of Montana PRAMS to assess the key factors associated with low response rates from American Indian people sampled, specifically if there are any demographic patterns to people who do not respond (i.e. address type, tribal affiliation, reservation residence, Medicaid or WIC participation, age/education/marital status/parity). The factors identified in this project will be used in recommendations for a tailored survey approach to capture more representative data of American Indian experiences, leading to better-informed health programming for American Indian mothers and parents in Montana.

Abbreviated Description: The gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Americans remains unacceptably wide. This project evaluates the Montana Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to improve survey engagement with American Indian populations and reduce the maternal health gap. This project highlights a quantitative analysis of Montana PRAMS to assess the key factors associated with low response rates from American Indian people sampled, specifically if there are any demographic patterns to people who do not respond. The factors identified in this project will be to inform approaches to capture more representative data of American Indian experiences, leading to better-informed health programming for American Indian mothers in Montana.