Differential Electronic Survey Response: Does Survey Fatigue Affect Everyone Equally?

Introduction: Survey fatigue, a phenomenon where respondents lose interest or lack moti-vation to complete surveys, can undermine rigorously designed studies. Research during the COVID-19 pandemic capitalized on electronic surveys for maximum distribution, but with lower response rates. Additionally, it is unclear how survey fatigue affects surgical education stakeholders. This study aims to determine how response rates to an electronic survey, as a proxy for survey fatigue, differ among medical students (MS), surgery resi-dents, and surgery faculty.Methods: Electronic surveys evaluating the surgical clerkship educational environment were distributed to third year MS, residents, and faculty at three academic institutions. Two reminder emails were sent. Groups with low response rates (<30%) received addi-tional prompting. Response rates were compared using a chi-square test. Demographics of all survey respondents were collected and discussed. Baseline characteristics of the MS class, residency program, and Department of Surgery faculty from one institution were gathered and compared to respondents.Results: Surveys were sent to 283 third year MS, 190 surgery residents, and 374 surgical faculty. Response rates were 43%, 27%, and 20%, respectively (P < 0.0001). Male re-spondents, respondents of color, midlevel residents, and assistant professors had lower response rates compared to the baseline cohort.Conclusions: Our results demonstrate a statistically significant difference in survey response rates among MS, residents, and faculty, and have identified various targets for further investigation. Loss of interest in these groups should be further evaluated with a goal of decreasing survey fatigue, increasing survey response rates, and improving the quality of survey data collected.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.