Interagency and Commercial Collaboration During an Investigation of Chikungunya and Dengue Among Returning Travelers to the United States.

Public health investigations can require intensive collaboration between numerous governmental and nongovernmental organizations. We describe an investigation involving several governmental and nongovernmental partners that was successfully planned and performed in an organized, comprehensive, and timely manner with several governmental and nongovernmental partners.

Reliability of estimates of return of lost letters as a measure of public attitudes to taking human life.

An analysis of letters distributed in cities and smaller rural communities in north and south Florida (ns=400 and 448) showed return rates among several addressees were slightly but significantly correlated (rs=.10 and .10) so very small interpoll agreement is present.

Extensions of the lost letter technique to divisive issues of creationism, darwinism, sex education, and gay and lesbian affiliations.

Two field studies using 1,004 "lost letters" were designed to test the hypotheses that returned responses would be greater in small towns than from a city, that addressees' affiliation with a group either (1) opposed to physical education in schools, (2) supporting gay and lesbian teachers, or (3) advocating Creationism or Darwinism would reduce the return rate. Of 504 letters "lost" in Study A, 163 (32.3%) were returned in the mail from residents of southeast Louisiana and indicated across 3 addressees and 2 sizes of community, addressees' affiLiations were not associated with returned responses. Community size and addressees' affiliations were associated with significantly different rates of return in the city. Return rates from sites within a city were lower when letters were addressed to an organization which opposed (teaching) health education in the schools than to one supporting daily health education. Of 500 letters "lost" in Study B, 95 (19.0%) were returned from residents of northwest Florida and indicated across 5 addressees and 2 sizes of community, addressees' affiliations were significantly associated with returned responses overall (5 addressees) and in small towns (control, Creationism, Darwinism addressees), but not with community size. Community size and addressees' affiliations were associated with significantly different rates of return in small towns, with returns greater than or equal to those in the city (except for the addressee advocating teaching Darwinism in public schools). The present findings appear to show that applications of the lost letter technique to other divisive social issues are useful in assessing public opinion.