Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) has been used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effects of respondent fatigue during these interviews on responses to questions about diet are unknown. We designed an experiment that randomized the placement of a survey module on the d...

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Main Authors: Abay, Kibrom A., Berhane, Guush, Hoddinott, John F., Tafere, Kibrom
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128538
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author Abay, Kibrom A.
Berhane, Guush
Hoddinott, John F.
Tafere, Kibrom
author_browse Abay, Kibrom A.
Berhane, Guush
Hoddinott, John F.
Tafere, Kibrom
author_facet Abay, Kibrom A.
Berhane, Guush
Hoddinott, John F.
Tafere, Kibrom
author_sort Abay, Kibrom A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) has been used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effects of respondent fatigue during these interviews on responses to questions about diet are unknown. We designed an experiment that randomized the placement of a survey module on the dietary diversity of rural Ethiopian women and assessed whether responses were altered by placing this module earlier or later in a phone survey. Two CATIs were implemented; in the second, women were randomly assigned to answer questions on diet diversity either earlier or later in the interview. Women's Dietary Diversity Scores were the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were dichotomous measures of consumption from four or more and five or more food groups and consumption of food groups consumed frequently, often, and rarely. Impacts were assessed using a respondent fixed effects model. Delaying the food consumption module by 15 min in the interview led to an 8%–17% (P < 0.01) decrease in reported Dietary Diversity Scores, a 28% (P < 0.01) decrease in the number of women who consumed a minimum of four dietary groups, and a 40% (P < 0.01) and 11% (P < 0.01) decrease in the reporting of consumption of animal source foods and fruits and vegetables, respectively. Moving the food consumption module closer to the beginning of the interview increased the number of reported food groups consumed by older women, women with a below-median education level, and women in larger households. Our findings suggest that comparisons of descriptive statistics across studies and countries on metrics such as food security and dietary quality may be confounded by where these modules are placed in the interview, thus highlighting trade-offs between volume of information collected and data quality when designing CATI surveys.
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spelling CGSpace1285382025-04-17T08:26:05Z Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic Abay, Kibrom A. Berhane, Guush Hoddinott, John F. Tafere, Kibrom coronavirus coronavirus disease coronavirinae covid-19 interviews surveys dietary diversity rural areas women methods The computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) has been used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effects of respondent fatigue during these interviews on responses to questions about diet are unknown. We designed an experiment that randomized the placement of a survey module on the dietary diversity of rural Ethiopian women and assessed whether responses were altered by placing this module earlier or later in a phone survey. Two CATIs were implemented; in the second, women were randomly assigned to answer questions on diet diversity either earlier or later in the interview. Women's Dietary Diversity Scores were the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were dichotomous measures of consumption from four or more and five or more food groups and consumption of food groups consumed frequently, often, and rarely. Impacts were assessed using a respondent fixed effects model. Delaying the food consumption module by 15 min in the interview led to an 8%–17% (P < 0.01) decrease in reported Dietary Diversity Scores, a 28% (P < 0.01) decrease in the number of women who consumed a minimum of four dietary groups, and a 40% (P < 0.01) and 11% (P < 0.01) decrease in the reporting of consumption of animal source foods and fruits and vegetables, respectively. Moving the food consumption module closer to the beginning of the interview increased the number of reported food groups consumed by older women, women with a below-median education level, and women in larger households. Our findings suggest that comparisons of descriptive statistics across studies and countries on metrics such as food security and dietary quality may be confounded by where these modules are placed in the interview, thus highlighting trade-offs between volume of information collected and data quality when designing CATI surveys. 2022-10 2023-02-08T15:01:24Z 2023-02-08T15:01:24Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128538 en Open Access Elsevier Abay, Kibrom A.; Berhane, Guush; Hoddinott, John F.; and Tafere, Kibrom. 2022. Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Nutrition 152(10): 2269–2276. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac153
spellingShingle coronavirus
coronavirus disease
coronavirinae
covid-19
interviews
surveys
dietary diversity
rural areas
women
methods
Abay, Kibrom A.
Berhane, Guush
Hoddinott, John F.
Tafere, Kibrom
Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort respondent fatigue reduces dietary diversity scores reported from mobile phone surveys in ethiopia during the covid 19 pandemic
topic coronavirus
coronavirus disease
coronavirinae
covid-19
interviews
surveys
dietary diversity
rural areas
women
methods
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128538
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