Design and implementation of a web-based, respondent-driven sampling solution

McGowan, Catherine R.; Ekoriko, Promise; Alhaffar, Mervat; Cassidy-Seyoum, Sarah; Whitbread, Steven; Rogers, Phil; Bell, Lucy; Checchi, Francesco

doi:10.1186/s12911-023-02217-0

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Eighty-nine respondents met the study eligibility criteria (of the 93 who completed the survey between 3 March and 15 August 2022) constituting a sample considerably below the target sample size (see: McGowan et al [ 15 ] for possible reasons). Reasons for ineligibility included: being outside the eligible age range (i.e.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ODK), and a bespoke webRDS system. A detailed description of our use of RDS, as well as the development (and limitations) of the webRDS solution, has been published elsewhere [ 15 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Information about seed respondents was limited to an email address or phone number [ 15 ]. Onward respondents were invited using an email address or phone number inputted by the inviting respondent.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adult mortality patterns in Yemen before and during armed conflict: evidence from a web survey of the global diaspora

McGowan,

Alhaffar,

Ekoriko

et al. 2023

Confl Health

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Background The ongoing war in Yemen has created a severe and protracted crisis that has left nearly three-quarters of the population in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Despite eight years of conflict there exist few robust estimates of how the conflict (and the conflict combined with the COVID-19 pandemic) have affected mortality in Yemen. As the security situation has limited access to affected populations we have designed a novel alternative to local mortality surveys. Methods We used a web-based, respondent-driven sampling method to disseminate a mortality survey amongst the global Yemeni diaspora. We used Cox proportional hazards survival models to estimate the association between the exposure (i.e. between the pre-conflict, conflict, and conflict/pandemic periods) and mortality risk, adjusted for gender and birth cohort. Results Eighty-nine eligible respondents completed the survey. Respondents provided data on the status of 1704 individuals of whom 85 (5%) had died; of these 65 (3.8%) were reported to have died in Yemen. An analysis of survivorship of respondents’ parents after their 50th birthday (adjusted for gender and birth cohort) provided weak evidence that the war and pandemic periods were associated with higher mortality when compared to the pre-war period. Analysis of the subset of individuals who died in Yemen also suggested an increased, but non-significant hazard of dying during the war/pandemic period: this association tended towards significance when allowing for varying degrees of out-migration from Yemen across the cohort. The number of deaths amongst respondents’ siblings and children under five in Yemen were too low to allow meaningful analysis. Conclusions Our data suggest increased mortality during the war/pandemic period, compared to the pre-war period, among older Yemeni adults. However, our findings require careful interpretation as our study design cannot establish causation, and as our small and non-representative sample appeared skewed towards higher-income, urban communities. Surveys of diaspora populations offer a promising means of describing mortality patterns in crisis-affected populations; though, large numbers of respondents are likely required to achieve accurate mortality estimates and to adjust for selection bias.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ODK), and a bespoke webRDS system. A detailed description of our use of RDS, as well as the development (and limitations) of the webRDS solution, has been published elsewhere [ 15 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%