Article Text

Selfie consents, remote rapport, and Zoom debriefings: collecting qualitative data amid a pandemic in four resource-constrained settings
  1. Mark Donald C Reñosa1,2,
  2. Chanda Mwamba3,
  3. Ankita Meghani4,
  4. Nora S West4,
  5. Shreya Hariyani4,5,
  6. William Ddaaki6,
  7. Anjali Sharma3,
  8. Laura K Beres4,
  9. Shannon McMahon1,4
  1. 1Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Ruprechts-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  2. 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, Manila, Philippines
  3. 3On behalf of the Social & Behavioural Science Group, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
  4. 4Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  5. 5Johns Hopkins India Private Limited (JHIPL), Delhi, India
  6. 6On behalf of the Social & Behavioral Sciences Team, The Rakai Health Sciences Program, Rakai, Uganda
  1. Correspondence to Dr Shannon A McMahon; mcmahon{at}uni-heidelberg.de

Abstract

In-person interactions have traditionally been the gold standard for qualitative data collection. The COVID-19 pandemic required researchers to consider if remote data collection can meet research objectives, while retaining the same level of data quality and participant protections. We use four case studies from the Philippines, Zambia, India and Uganda to assess the challenges and opportunities of remote data collection during COVID-19. We present lessons learned that may inform practice in similar settings, as well as reflections for the field of qualitative inquiry in the post-COVID-19 era. Key challenges and strategies to overcome them included the need for adapted researcher training in the use of technologies and consent procedures, preparation for abbreviated interviews due to connectivity concerns, and the adoption of regular researcher debriefings. Participant outreach to allay suspicions ranged from communicating study information through multiple channels to highlighting associations with local institutions to boost credibility. Interviews were largely successful, and contained a meaningful level of depth, nuance and conviction that allowed teams to meet study objectives. Rapport still benefitted from conventional interviewer skills, including attentiveness and fluency with interview guides. While differently abled populations may encounter different barriers, the included case studies, which varied in geography and aims, all experienced more rapid recruitment and robust enrollment. Reduced in-person travel lowered interview costs and increased participation among groups who may not have otherwise attended. In our view, remote data collection is not a replacement for in-person endeavours, but a highly beneficial complement. It may increase accessibility and equity in participant contributions and lower costs, while maintaining rich data collection in multiple study target populations and settings.

  • qualitative study
  • public health
  • health policies and all other topics
  • study design

Data availability statement

No data are available from this practice paper.

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This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Data availability statement

No data are available from this practice paper.

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Footnotes

  • Handling editor Seye Abimbola

  • Twitter @shannonamcmahon

  • Contributors MDCR and SAM conceived the study and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. CM, AM, SH, NSW, WD, AS and LKB contributed to the writing of the case studies and edited the manuscript. SAM supervised all the writing and editing of the manuscript. All authors have read, critically revised the paper, and approved the final version of the manuscript.

  • Funding This work was supported, in whole or in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1217275). Under the grant conditions of the Foundation, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License has already been assigned to the Author Accepted Manuscript version that might arise from this submission. They further acknowledge the funding support we received for the research projects. In the Philippines: Global Grand Challenges, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In Zambia: UCSF Gladstone, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Vittol Foundation, NIH and the CDC. In India: Johns Hopkins Alliance for A Healthier World. In Uganda: The Johns Hopkins Catalyst Awards. Author NW was supported by training grant T32 MH103210 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

  • Disclaimer The funders had no role in the decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of any funder.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.