Mobile Phone Questionnaires for Sexual Risk Data Collection Among Young Women in Soweto, South Africa

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 22; no. 7; pp. 2312 - 2321
• Main Authors: Dietrich, Janan J., Lazarus, Erica, Andrasik, Michele, Hornschuh, Stefanie, Otwombe, Kennedy, Morgan, Cecilia, Isaacs, Abby J., Huang, Yunda, Laher, Fatima, Kublin, James G., Gray, Glenda E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-07-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Bias; Cell Phone; Cell phones; Cellular telephones; Cohort Studies; Condoms - statistics & numerical data; Data Collection; Feasibility Studies; Female; Health Psychology; Health risk assessment; HIV; HIV Infections; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Prospective Studies; Public Health; Questionnaires; Risk Assessment; Risk behavior; Risk taking; Safe Sex - statistics & numerical data; Self Report; Sex; Sexual behavior; Sexual Behavior - statistics & numerical data; Social desirability; South Africa; Surveys and Questionnaires; Telephone communications; Women; Womens health; Young Adult; Young adults; Young women; South Africa; Soweto South Africa; Mobile phone; Momentary ecological assessments; Mobile health (mhealth); Daily diaries; Africa
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-018-2080-y

Recall and social desirability bias undermine self-report of paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Mobile phone questionnaires may overcome these challenges. We assessed and compared sexual risk behavior reporting via in-clinic paper-and-pencil and mobile phone questionnaires. HVTN 915 was a prospective cohort study of 50 adult women in Soweto, who completed daily mobile phone, and eight interviewer-administered in-clinic questionnaires over 12 weeks to assess sexual risk. Daily mobile phone response rates were 82% (n = 3486/4500); 45% (n = 1565/3486) reported vaginal sex (median sex acts 2 (IQR: 1–3)) within 24 h and 40% (n = 618/1565) consistent condom. Vaginal sex reporting was significantly higher via mobile phone across all visits (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in condom use reporting by mobile phone and in-clinic paper-based questionnaires across all visits (p = 0.5134). The results show high adherence and reporting of sex on the mobile phone questionnaire. We demonstrate feasibility in collecting mobile phone sexual risk data.