Sampling and Weighting Strategies for Nonprobability Survey and Serology Data from Blood Donors

Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center 

Monitoring the burden of respiratory virus infections is essential to public health surveillance and preparedness for novel viral agents with pandemic potential. In the U.S., longitudinal survey and multipathogen serologic data are being collected from a cohort of blood donors under the Respiratory Virus Repeat Donor Cohort program, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimates of interest include incidence of respiratory virus infections nationally, regionally, and by demographic group. A sampling and weighting strategy was developed to reduce bias from nonprobability components while balancing representation and feasibility. Using donor lists from Vitalant and American Red Cross, an initial sample was selected via stratified random sampling calibrated to American Community Survey demographic totals. A series of probability sampling and non-sampling steps produced a cohort of 25,255 donors invited to complete quarterly surveys and a subset of 11,202 whose blood donations were tested for antibodies to multiple respiratory viruses. Weighting adjustments and calibration improved population representativeness, enhancing the data's utility for decision making.

Calibration

Nonprobability samples

Public health

Stratification

Subsampling 

Survey Research Methods Section