Five questions to consider when conducting COVID-19 phone research

Menon, Shreya; Sonderegger, Petra; Totapally, Swetha

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004917

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Getting written informed consent on WhatsApp or SMS from participant’s in remote research was possible, though relatively new in health research, it is increasingly being accepted by Human Research Ethics Committees [ 25 ]. Others have argued that remote consent from participants who self-select to participate is truer and non-coercive given that participant’s express interest without researchers’ putting undue pressure on them to participate [ 26 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa

Mahlangu,

Machisa,

Jewkes

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Violence against women (VAW) research is a sensitive topic, which has been conducted mainly using face-to-face methods. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions on movement presented an opportunity to conduct VAW research using remote methods. We discuss how we adapted methods, reflect on lessons learned, and make recommendations highlighting key considerations when conducting remote research on a sensitive topic of VAW. Methods We designed and conducted an exploratory qualitative study using remote methods with 18 men and 19 women, aged 18 years and older, who lived with their partner or spouse during lockdown in South Africa. The aim of the study was to explore experiences of COVID-19 lockdown, and its link to women and children’s experiences of violence in the homes. Data presented in this paper draws from researchers’ reflections drawn from debriefing sessions during the research process, and from participants’ interview transcripts. Findings Remote recruitment of participants took longer than anticipated, and we had to re-advertise the study. We could not ensure safety and privacy during interviews. Regardless of all the safety and privacy measures we put in place during the research process, some participants had an adult person present in the room during interviews, and the researchers had no control over interruptions. Rapport was difficult to establish without an in-person connection, which limited disclosure about violence experience (amongst women) and perpetration (amongst men). Conclusions Given the methodological and ethical challenges which limited disclosure of VAW remotely, we conclude that telephone interviews used in our study impacted on the quality of study data. Therefore, we do not recommend VAW research to be conducted remotely, unless it is essential and participants are already known to the interviewer and trust has been established.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa

Mahlangu,

Machisa,

Jewkes

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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“…Moreover, telephone interviews pose a greater challenge, as more resistance and refusals arise if questionnaires are lengthy and complicated [13][14][15][16]. We kept the survey administration time to less than 20 minutes, as longer surveys can lead to lower response rates and/or higher chances of breakoffs [17]. In light of constraints on survey administration time, some questions were rotated across rounds, while others were asked only once at the household level.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohort Profile: Real-Time Insights of COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India)

Banerjee¹,

Petrosyan

Rao

et al. 2023

BMC Public Health

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Background The coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic caused disruption globally and was particularly distressing in low- and middle-income countries such as India. This study aimed to provide population representative estimates of COVID-related outcomes in India over time and characterize how COVID-related changes and impacts differ by key socioeconomic groups across the life course. Methods The sample was leveraged from an existing nationally representative study on cognition and dementia in India: Harmonized Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI-DAD). The wave-1 of LASI-DAD enrolled 4096 older adults aged 60 years and older in 3316 households from 18 states and union territories of India. Out of the 3316 LASI-DAD households, 2704 with valid phone numbers were contacted and invited to participate in the Real-Time Insights COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India) study. RTI COVID-India was a bi-monthly phone survey that provided insight into the individual’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour towards COVID-19 and changes in the household’s economic and health conditions throughout the pandemic. The survey was started in May 2020 and 9 rounds of data have been collected. Findings till date Out of the 2704 LASI-DAD households with valid phone numbers, 1766 households participated in the RTI COVID-India survey at least once. Participants were in the age range of 18–102 years, 49% were female, 66% resided in rural area. Across all rounds, there was a higher report of infection among respondents aged 60–69 years. There was a greater prevalence of COVID-19 diagnosis reported in urban (23.0%) compared to rural areas (9.8%). Respondents with higher education had a greater prevalence of COVID-19 diagnosis compared to those with lower or no formal education. Highest prevalence of COVID-19 diagnosis was reported from high economic status compared to middle and low economic status households. Comparing education gradients in experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and being diagnosed, we observe an opposite pattern: respondents with no formal schooling reported the highest level of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, whereas the greatest proportion of the respondents with secondary school or higher education reported being diagnosed with COVID-19. Future plans The study group will analyse the data collected showing the real-time changes throughout the pandemic and will make the data widely available for researchers to conduct further studies.

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“…[13][14][15][16] We kept the survey administration time to less than 20 minutes, as longer surveys can lead to lower response rates and/or higher chances of breakoffs. 17 In light of constraints on survey administration time, some questions were rotated across rounds while others were asked only once at the household level. Further details are discussed in the "What has been measured" section.…”

Section: Figure -2 To Be Inserted Herementioning

confidence: 99%

Cohort Profile: Real-Time Insights of COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India)

Banerjee

Petrosyan

Rao

et al. 2022

Preprint

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BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic caused disruption globally and was particularly distressing in low- and middle-income countries such as India. This study aimed to provide population representative estimates of COVID-related outcomes in India over time and characterize how COVID-related changes and impacts differ by key socioeconomic groups across the life course.MethodsThe sample was leveraged from an existing nationally representative study on cognition and dementia in India: the Harmonized Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI-DAD). The wave-1 of LASI-DAD enrolled 4,096 older adults aged 60 years and older in 3,316 households from 18 states and union territories of India. Out of the 3,316 LASI-DAD households, 2,704 households with valid phone numbers were contacted and invited to participate in the Real-Time Insights COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India) study. RTI COVID-India is a bi-monthly phone survey that provides insight into the individual’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour towards COVID-19 and changes in the household’s economic and health conditions throughout the pandemic. The survey was started in May,2020 and 8 rounds have been completed till date.Findings till dateOut of the 2,704 LASI-DAD households with valid phone numbers, 1,766 households participated in the RTI COVID-India survey at least once. Participants were in the age range of 16-102 years Using the first four waves of survey data, Schaner et al. (2022) reported a gradual decline in protective behaviours like mask wearing and hand washing alongside a more rapid decline in distancing behaviour with a 30% decline in social distancing observed over the first 4 survey waves. Furthermore, women and older adults showed less adherence to protective behaviour, likely due to lower levels of mobility.Future plansA nineth and final round of the study is underway to measure the economic and socio-behavioural changes in the aftermath of India’s Omicron wave. The study group will analyse the data collected showing the real-time changes throughout the pandemic and make them publicly available for researchers to conduct further studies.

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Five questions to consider when conducting COVID-19 phone research

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa

Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa

Cohort Profile: Real-Time Insights of COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India)

Cohort Profile: Real-Time Insights of COVID-19 in India (RTI COVID-India)

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