Table 1.

Advantages and disadvantages of IVR in clinical research

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easy 24/7 system access from most locations	Unreliable telephone access in some areas
Cost-effectiveness	Survey interruption due to dropped calls
Familiarity with telephone technology	Not all instruments/surveys are validated for IVR
High level of compliance	Inability to answer participant questions in real time
Increased perceived anonymity	Inability of patients to seek clarification during survey
Ability to collect real-time momentary assessments	Less personal than meeting with a clinician
More accurate than retrospective reporting	Requires script validation, piloting, participant training
Consistency of survey administration	Requires staff to program and maintain IVR system
Not dependent on patient literacy	Costs associated with setup or commercial hosting
Not dependent on patient computer skills	Limited to auditory presentation (lack of visuals)
Allows for a large numbers of participants
Allows simultaneous access to multiple patients
Efficient data collection and storage
Efficient tracking of recruitment and compliance
Inclusion of automated reminders

Table adapted from Abu-Hasaballah et al. [2]