TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between interviewer-respondent familiarity and family planning outcomes in the Democratic Republic of Congo
T2 - A repeat cross-sectional analysis
AU - Anglewicz, Philip
AU - Akilimali, Pierre
AU - Eitmann, Linnea Perry
AU - Hernandez, Julie
AU - Kayembe, Patrick
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding PMA2020 was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA; under grant #OPP1079004.
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Objectives The typical approach of survey data collection is to use interviewers who are not from the study site and do not know the participants, yet the implications of this approach on data quality have seldom been investigated. We examine the relationship between interviewer-respondent familiarity and selected family planning outcomes, and whether this relationship changes over time between 2015 and 2016. Setting We use data from the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 Project in Kongo Central Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Participants Participants include representative samples of women of reproductive ages (15 to 49), 1565 interviewed in 2015 and 1668 in 2016. The study used a two-stage cluster design: First randomly selecting enumeration areas (EAs), then randomly selecting households within each EA. Design We first identify individual characteristics associated with familiarity between RE and respondent. Next, we examine the relationship between RE-respondent acquaintance and family planning outcomes. Finally, we use two waves of data to examine whether this relationship changes over time between 2015 and 2016. Results In multivariate analysis, interviewer-respondent acquaintance is significantly associated with last birth unintended (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.13) and reported infertility in 2015 (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.95); and any contraceptive use (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.28), traditional contraceptive use (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.89), reported infidelity (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.49) and age at first sex (coefficient -0.48, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.01) in 2016. The impact of acquaintance on survey responses changed over time for any contraceptive use (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.33 to 3.30). Conclusions The standard in many large-scale surveys is to use interviewers from outside the community. Our results show that interviewer-respondent acquaintance is associated with a range of family planning outcomes; therefore, we recommend that the approach to hiring interviewers be examined and reconsidered in survey data collection efforts.
AB - Objectives The typical approach of survey data collection is to use interviewers who are not from the study site and do not know the participants, yet the implications of this approach on data quality have seldom been investigated. We examine the relationship between interviewer-respondent familiarity and selected family planning outcomes, and whether this relationship changes over time between 2015 and 2016. Setting We use data from the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 Project in Kongo Central Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Participants Participants include representative samples of women of reproductive ages (15 to 49), 1565 interviewed in 2015 and 1668 in 2016. The study used a two-stage cluster design: First randomly selecting enumeration areas (EAs), then randomly selecting households within each EA. Design We first identify individual characteristics associated with familiarity between RE and respondent. Next, we examine the relationship between RE-respondent acquaintance and family planning outcomes. Finally, we use two waves of data to examine whether this relationship changes over time between 2015 and 2016. Results In multivariate analysis, interviewer-respondent acquaintance is significantly associated with last birth unintended (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.13) and reported infertility in 2015 (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.95); and any contraceptive use (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.28), traditional contraceptive use (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.89), reported infidelity (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.49) and age at first sex (coefficient -0.48, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.01) in 2016. The impact of acquaintance on survey responses changed over time for any contraceptive use (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.33 to 3.30). Conclusions The standard in many large-scale surveys is to use interviewers from outside the community. Our results show that interviewer-respondent acquaintance is associated with a range of family planning outcomes; therefore, we recommend that the approach to hiring interviewers be examined and reconsidered in survey data collection efforts.
KW - family planning
KW - interviewer effects
KW - survey methodology
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U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023069
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023069
M3 - Article
C2 - 30670510
AN - SCOPUS:85060374332
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 9
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 1
M1 - e023069
ER -