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Are Mechanical Turk worker samples representative of health status and health behaviors in the U.S.?

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is frequently used to administer health-related surveys and experiments at a low cost, but little is known about its representativeness with regards to health status and behaviors. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey comprised of questions from the nationally-representative 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was administered to 591 MTurk workers and 393 masters in 2016. Health status (asthma, depression, BMI, and general health), health behaviors (influenza vaccination, health insurance, smoking, and physical activity), and demographic characteristics of the two MTurk populations (workers and masters) were compared to each other and, using Poisson regression, to a nationally-representative BRFSS and NHANES samples. RESULTS:Workers and master demographics were similar. MTurk users were more likely to be aged under 50 years compared to the national sample (86% vs. 55%) and more likely to complete a college degree than the national sample (50% vs. 26%). Adjusting for covariates, MTurk users were less likely to be vaccinated for influenza, to smoke, to have asthma, to self-report being in excellent or very good health, to exercise, and have health insurance but over twice as likely to screen positive for depression relative to a national sample. Results were fairly consistent among different age groups. CONCLUSIONS:MTurk workers are not a generalizable population with regards to health status and behaviors; deviations did not follow a trend. Appropriate health-related uses for MTurk and ways to improve upon the generalizability of MTurk health studies are proposed.

SUBMITTER: Walters K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5991724 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Are Mechanical Turk worker samples representative of health status and health behaviors in the U.S.?

Walters Kelly K Christakis Dimitri A DA Wright Davene R DR

PloS one 20180607 6

<h4>Introduction</h4>Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is frequently used to administer health-related surveys and experiments at a low cost, but little is known about its representativeness with regards to health status and behaviors.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional survey comprised of questions from the nationally-representative 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was administered to 591 MTurk workers and 39 ...[more]

PMID: 29879207

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Project description:BackgroundSuboptimal healthcare quality may be a barrier to achieving child health improvements, yet little is known about the relationship between provider compliance with evidence-based practices and client behavior change. We assess provider compliance in the context of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counseling, its relationship with client IYCF behaviors in Bangladesh, and explore its potential determinants.MethodsWe use data from a 2017 evaluation of an IYCF program that includes a health worker survey (n = 74), caregiver survey (n = 232), and direct service observation checklists of counseling sessions (n = 232 observations of 74 health workers). We assess the relationship between provider compliance with recommended IYCF counseling topics and behaviors (standardized to a 100-point scale) and three reported IYCF behaviors among clients using multi-level models with random effects at the health worker and sub-district (sampling) levels. We also evaluate whether health worker self-efficacy, satisfaction, and technical knowledge are associated with provider compliance.ResultsHealth worker compliance was significantly associated with reported exclusive breastfeeding for children under 6 months of age (adjusted odds ratio per 1 percentage point increase in counseling compliance score = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01, 1.12) and marginally associated with minimum dietary diversity (adjusted odds ratio per 1 percentage point increase in counseling compliance score = 1.05, 95% CI 1.00, 1.11). Counseling compliance was significantly and positively associated with both health worker self-efficacy and technical knowledge.ConclusionsWe find evidence for an association between health worker compliance and client health behaviors; however, small effect sizes suggest that behavior change is multifactorial and affected by factors beyond care quality. Improvements to technical quality of care may contribute to desired health outcomes; but policies and programs seeking to change health behaviors through counseling may also wish to target upstream factors such as self-efficacy, alongside technical skill-building and knowledge, for maximum impact.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To prospectively examine the health and health-related behaviors of Army Special Forces personnel in comparison with two distinct, but functionally similar Army groups. METHODS:Special Forces, Ranger Qualified, and General Purposes Forces enrolled in the Millennium Cohort Study were identified using data from the Defense Manpower Data Center. Using prospective survey data (2001-2014), we estimated the association of Army specialization with mental health, social support, physical health, and health-related behaviors with multivariable regression models. RESULTS:Among the 5,392 eligible participants (84.4% General Purposes Forces, 10.0% Special Forces, 5.6% Ranger Qualified), Special Forces personnel reported the lowest prevalence of mental disorders, physical health problems, and unhealthy behaviors. In the multivariable models, Special Forces personnel were less likely to report mental health problems, multiple somatic symptoms, and unhealthy behaviors compared with General Purpose Forces infantrymen (odds ratios [OR]: 0.20-0.54, p-values < .01). Overall, Special Forces personnel were similar in terms of mental and physical health compared with Ranger Qualified infantrymen, but were less likely to sleep < 5 hours/night (OR: 0.60, 95% confidence intervals: 0.40, 0.92) and have 5 or more multiple somatic symptoms (OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.98). Both Special Forces personnel and Ranger Qualified infantrymen engaged in more healthy behaviors compared with General Purpose Forces infantrymen (OR: 2.57-6.22, p-values<0.05). Engagement in more healthy behaviors reduced the odds of subsequent adverse health outcomes, regardless of specialization. CONCLUSIONS:Army Special Forces personnel were found to be mentally and physically healthier than General Purpose Forces infantrymen, which may in part be due to their tendency to engage in healthy behaviors. Findings indicate that engagement in a greater number of healthy behaviors may reduce odds for subsequent adverse outcomes.

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Are Mechanical Turk worker samples representative of health status and health behaviors in the U.S.?

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Are Mechanical Turk worker samples representative of health status and health behaviors in the U.S.?

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