Truckers Drive Their Own Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Collaborative Approach to Online Self-Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Difference between revisions
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== Methods == | == Methods == | ||
''Survey development and promotion''. The survey instrument was a web-based version of the Berlin Questionnaire<sup>[11]</sup> as recommended by the Medical Expert Panel of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Berlin Questionnaire consists of a series of questions about risk factors for sleep apnea, and is presented in three sections (one about sleepiness, one about snoring, and one about BMI and hypertension). We included an automatic BMI calculator to facilitate that part of the data collection. An individual is considered at high risk if positive on 2 of 3 of the sections. This screening instrument was computerized for use on the TFAC-AWAKE website. The survey was promoted through the TFAC’s XM radio, word of mouth and trucking industry press contacts. | |||
''Participants''. Participants could take the survey anonymously from any computer. Potential participants accessed the survey by visiting the TFAC-AWAKE website and logged onto the "Sleep Apnea Checker for Drivers" link. (http://awake.truckersforacause.com). Individuals who took the survey were identified only through their computer's IP (Internet Protocol) address; this was done to ensure anonymity and to be sure that each participant completed the survey only once. After completion of the online questionnaire, participants immediately learned whether their Berlin questionnaire score was positive or negative. If their Berlin score was positive, they also received a link to a National Sleep Foundation website list of sleep centers. | |||
Data Collection. The website link was active for data collection from January 11, 2010 until | |||
September 24, 2010. After that point, the link remained active for truckers' continued usage, but | |||
it no longer stored data into the data set. This cut-off point for data collection was created | |||
because Internet Service Providers may change a user's IP address over time. Some participants | |||
may try to "game" the system to manipulate the survey results with multiple completions of the | |||
form. The survey window was open for a short time to reduce this threat to the dataset. | |||
== Results == | == Results == | ||