JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a demand for timely data, resulting in a surge of mobile phone surveys for tracking the impacts of and responses to the pandemic. Mobile phone surveys have become a preferred mode of data collection across low- and middle-income countries.

Objective:

In this study, we piloted two population-based, cross-sectional mobile phone surveys among Sri Lankan in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveys aimed to gather data on knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs), vaccine acceptability, availability and barriers to COVID-19 testing, and utilization of a medicine distribution service.

Methods:

The study utilized Surveda, an open-source survey tool developed by the NCD Mobile Phone Survey Data 4 Health Initiative, for data collection and management. The surveys were conducted through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) using automated, pre-recorded messages in Sinhala, Tamil, and English. The sample design involved random sampling of mobile phone numbers, stratified by sex, proportional to the general population. Eligibility criteria varied between surveys, targeting adults aged 35 and older with any non-communicable disease (NCD) for the first survey and all adults for the second survey. The data were adjusted to population estimates, and statistical analysis was conducted using SAS and R software. Descriptive statistics, Rao-Scott chi-square tests, and z-tests were employed to analyze the data. Response rates, cooperation rates, and productivity of the sampling approach were calculated.

Results:

In the first survey, n=5,001, the overall response rate was 7.5%, with a completion rate of 85.6%. In the second survey, n=1,250, the overall response rate was 10.9%, with a completion rate of 61.9%. Three out of four adults reported that they avoided public places (75.6%); over two-thirds avoided public transportation (68.9%); and 9 out of 10 practiced physical distancing (89.7%). Approximately one out of 10 Sri Lankans reported being tested for COVID-19, and the majority of those received a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test (70.0%). Significantly more males than females reported being tested for COVID-19 (17.8% vs. 10.6% respectively; P<.005). Lastly, the majority of adult Sri Lankans reported that they definitely or probably would get the COVID-19 vaccination (65.7%).

Conclusions:

The surveys revealed that, overall, adult Sri Lankans adhered to COVID-19 mitigation strategies. These findings underscore the utility of mobile phone surveys in swiftly and easily providing essential data to inform a country's response during the COVID-19 pandemic, obviating the need for face-to-face data collection.