Canadian Health&Care; Mall

Methods A questionnaire with 39 questions was developed to include most of the procedures and techniques used in the practice of bronchoscopy. While the questions did not follow an identical format, several common definitions were provided for the survey participants. If a bronchoscopy-related procedure was performed “routinely,” it meant that the responder performed it in more than 85 percent of the time in her/his bronchoscopy practice. If it was performed “sometimes” it meant that the physician used it 6 percent to 84 percent of the time. A “rarely” performed procedure was defined as one used 5 percent or less of the time. Space was provided to write comments on each of the individual questions. At the end of the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to write other comments regarding the practice of bronchoscopy and the questionnaire itself. The questionnaire was mailed to 1,700 randomly selected members of the ACCP who were listed as pulmonary specialists in the ACCP roster. They were provided with instructions for completing the questionnaire and were requested to return it by mail to the ACCP Questionnaires were completed anonymously. Only one mailing was made. Only those involved in the practice of bronchoscopy during 1989 were requested to respond. All completed questionnaires were tabulated, and the results were analyzed by standard statistical methods.