In collaboration with the Research Triangle Institute, CSR conducted a national telephone survey of people 18-45 years of age to ask sensitive questions about risk behaviors associated with the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. These sensitive surveys were conducted both by interviewers asking the questions and by interviewers connecting respondents to a computer which asked the questions with respondents answering by hitting buttons on their touch tone phone. Over 2,000 interviews were conducted demonstrating that risky behaviors are more likely to be reported using the computer technology. A response rate over 60%was obtained to this difficult survey.

In collaboration with the Research Triangle Institute, The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Johns Hopkins University, CSR has conducted two successful telephone pilot surveys of people 18-35 in Baltimore and North Carolina. These pilot surveys connected people to a computer and asked sensitive questions about sexual practices. The respondents were then offered an opportunity to be paid $50 if they would send a urine sample in the mail to a lab to be tested for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. If any were found, arrangements were made to have the person get free medical treatment. In the pilot surveys, approximately 85% of respondents provided the urine sample. The pilots were used to secure a grant from NIH to study the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in Baltimore. The methodology can also be applied elsewhere to get accurate population estimates if the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections is a health concern.