Use of interviewer-administered telephone surveys during infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics

A scoping review

Bibliographic Data

ID21881608
AuthorsSayaka Arita (0000-0003-3898-4271, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique, corresponding author), Mouhamadou Faly Ba (0000-0002-1898-738X, Cheikh Anta Diop University), Zoumana Traoré (0000-0001-8858-5557, CloudyYours, Morangis, France), Emmanuel Bonnet (0000-0001-6735-5330, Pôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la Diffusion de l'Information Géographique), Adama Faye (0000-0002-7849-2469, Cheikh Anta Diop University), Valery Ridde (0000-0001-9299-8266, Université Paris Cité)
Year2023
Volume8
Issue5
Pagese011109
Publication date2023-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBMJ Global Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/bmjgh-2022-011109
PMID37137536
OpenAlexW4368360890
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited60

INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 crisis, researchers had to collect data remotely. Telephone surveys and interviews can quickly gather data from a distance without heavy expense. Although interviewer-administered telephone surveys (IATS) can accommodate the needs of international public health research, the literature on their use during infectious disease outbreaks is scarce. This scoping review aimed to map the characteristics of IATS during infectious disease outbreaks. METHODS: IATS conducted principally during infectious disease outbreaks and answered by informants at least 18 years old were searched from PubMed and EBSCO. There was a manual addition of relevant documents identified during an initial search. Overall trends were reported using different groupings, including WHO regions, and study details were compared before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: 70 IATS published between 2003 and 2022 were identified. 57.1% were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among 30 IATS conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, only 3.3% were carried out in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This percentage of studies in LMICs out of all the IATS rose to 32.5% during the pandemic. The share of qualitative studies grew from 6.7% before the COVID-19 outbreak to 32.5% during the outbreak. IATS performed during the COVID-19 pandemic focused on more diverse, specific population groups, such as patients and healthcare professionals. Mobile phones are increasingly used for IATS over time. CONCLUSION: IATS are used globally with high frequency in the Western Pacific Region and high-income countries. Technical and financial challenges continue to exist, and assessments of inclusiveness and representativeness should be carefully conducted. A lack of details related to methods was observed, and this scoping review urges researchers using this data collection method in the future to specify how they executed IATS for better use and more efficient deployment

Disease · Environmental health · Interview · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Political science · Population · Public health · Social science · Sociology · Telephone interview · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing · Psychology · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse

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