Feasibility of using telephone interviews and internet-based message services during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Sri Lanka: experiences of the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort

Early Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged population health researchers to use remote data collection methods to avoid inter-personal interaction. A proper assessment of its feasibility in low resource settings is lacking. We share our experience from telephone interviews (TI) conducted among pregnant women in the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort, Sri Lanka. Among 3374 participants, 3284(98.4%) and 496(14.7%) had mobile and fixed access phones respectively. During interviews, 1576(51.9%) were non-contactable. Among them, 157(5.1%) were 'wrong' numbers, 889(29.1%) were 'unavailable'/'switched-off' and 479(15.7%) didn’t answer their phone. TIs were completed only among 1438(47.4%). Of those, 476(33.1%) used messenger apps. In this local setting, these methods led to selection bias and inequity in health message delivery. If other ways to target vulnerable people in rural areas are not in place, the adoption of a telephone-based strategy for health message delivery may worsen health disparity during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results aid in the planning and implementation of research and health promotion initiatives in rural areas of low- and middle-income nations throughout the world.