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Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of using touch screen handheld devices in conducting field workplace health assessments

From: Application of handheld devices to field research among underserved construction worker populations: a workplace health assessment pilot study

Advantages

 

No papers (recruitment script, verbal consent form) or pens needed, just the handheld device

 

No missing data in the handheld devices, while missing and sometimes unintelligible data on the paper-based option

 

Data easily downloaded from device and automatically loaded into Excel spreadsheet

 

Clear audit trail of which interviewer administered the protocol and timing of administration

 

More usable in inclement weather (using a suitable covering) than paper-based recording system

 

Enhanced security features relative to paper data-collection forms (data confidentiality protection)

 

Electronic data requires less physical space to store than signed consent or data forms

 

Devices are easy to program with web-interface, especially for multiple, simultaneous interview scripts

 

No-data entry costs (versus paper-option)

 

Construction workers may be interested and willing to complete the interviews themselves using the handheld devices

Disadvantages

 

Devices must be powered overnight prior to field data collection

 

Keyboard initially cumbersome for some interviewers

 

Periodic reviews for residual data remaining on devices and for proper data transmission

 

Potential loss of data due to device malfunction

 

Lack of acceptance by some researchers

 

Initial cost of each handheld device may be moderately high