Search

Introduction: Although interactive voice response (IVR) is a promising mobile phone survey (MPS) method for public health data collection in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), participation rates for this method remain lower than traditional methods. This study tested whether using different introductory messages increases the participation rates of IVR surveys in two LMICs, Bangladesh and Uganda. Methods: We conducted two randomized, controlled micro-trials using fully-automated random digit dialing to test the impact of (1) the gender of the speaker recording the survey (i.e., survey voice); and (2) the valence of the invitation to participate in the survey (i.e., survey introduction) on response and cooperation rates. Participants indicated their consent by using the keypad of cellphones. Four study arms were compared: (1) male and informational (MI); (2) female and information (FI); (3) male and motivational (MM); and (4) female and motivational (FM). Results: Bangladesh and Uganda had 1705 and 1732 complete surveys, respectively. In both countries, a majority of the respondents were males, young adults (i.e., 18-29-year-olds), urban residents, and had O-level/above education level. In Bangladesh, the contact rate was higher in FI (48.9%), MM (50.0%), and FM (55.2%) groups than in MI (43.0%); the response rate was higher in FI (32.3%) and FM (33.1%) but not in MM (27.2%) and MI (27.1%). Some differences in cooperation and refusal rates were also observed. In Uganda, MM (65.4%) and FM (67.9%) had higher contact rates than MI (60.8%). The response rate was only higher in MI (52.5%) compared to MI (45.9%). Refusal and cooperation rates were similar. In Bangladesh, after pooling by introductions, female arms had higher contact (52.1% vs 46.5%), response (32.7% vs 27.1%), and cooperation (47.8% vs 40.4%) rates than male arms. Pooling by gender showed higher contact (52.3% vs 45.6%) and refusal (22.5% vs 16.3%) rates but lower cooperation rate (40.0% vs 48.2%) in motivational arms than informational arms. In Uganda, pooling intros did not show any difference in survey rates by gender; however, pooling by intros showed higher contact (66.5% vs 61.5%) and response (50.0% vs 45.2%) rates in motivational arms than informational arms. Conclusion: Overall, we found higher survey rates among female voice and motivational introduction arms compared to male voice and informational introduction arm in Bangladesh. However, Uganda had higher rates for motivational intro arms only compared to informational arms. Gender and valence must be considered for successful IVR surveys. Trial registration: Name of the registry: ClinicalTrials.gov. Trial registration number: NCT03772431. Date of registration: 12/11/2018, Retrospectively Registered. URL of trial registry record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03772431?term=03772431&cond=Non-Communicable+Disease&draw=2&rank=1. Protocol Availability: https://www.researchprotocols.org/2017/5/e81. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This is the first study to examine the costs of conducting a mobile phone survey (MPS) through interactive voice response (IVR) to collect information on risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCD) in three low- and middle-income countries (LMIC); Bangladesh, Colombia, and Uganda. Methods: This is a micro-costing study conducted from the perspective of the payer/funder with a 1-year horizon. The study evaluates the fixed costs and variable costs of implementing one nationally representative MPS for NCD risk factors of the adult population. In this costing study, we estimated the sample size of calls required to achieve a population-representative survey and associated incentives. Cost inputs were obtained from direct economic costs incurred by a central study team, from country-specific collaborators, and from platform developers who participated in the deployment of these MPS during 2017. Costs were reported in US dollars (USD). A sensitivity analysis was conducted assessing different scenarios of pricing and incentive strategies. Also, costs were calculated for a survey deployed targeting only adults younger than 45 years. Results: We estimated the fixed costs ranging between $47,000 USD and $74,000 USD. Variable costs were found to be between $32,000 USD and $129,000 USD per nationally representative survey. The main cost driver was the number of calls required to meet the sample size, and its variability largely depends on the extent of mobile phone coverage and access in the country. Therefore, a larger number of calls were estimated to survey specific harder-to-reach sub-populations. Conclusion: Mobile phone surveys have the potential to be a relatively less expensive and timely method of collecting survey information than face-to-face surveys, allowing decision-makers to deploy survey-based monitoring or evaluation programs more frequently than it would be possible having only face-to-face contact. The main driver of variable costs is survey time, and most of the variability across countries is attributable to the sampling differences associated to reaching out to population subgroups with low mobile phone ownership or access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]