Handheld computers help community volunteers conduct rapid and accurate survey

Volunteers learn how to use handheld survey device

Red Cross volunteers in Ghana have demonstrated an approach to rapid, accurate and inexpensive program assessment surveys. These important surveys may not be done because they can take many weeks, suffer from errors in data collection or transcription, and may cost many thousand of dollars.

In order to avoid these problems, surveys may be done infrequently, in limited geographic areas, on small numbers of respondents, or not done at all. Even then the data may contain errors due to data entry or be delayed for months while the data are checked and cleaned.

During a measles vaccination campaign in Ghana in October 2001, the Ghana Red Cross was able to complete a complex survey of 2,500 caretakers, in 60 different sites, with no data translation errors. The objectives of the survey were to measure the impact of Ghana Red Cross social mobilization efforts and demonstrate the feasibility of using handheld computers for such surveys. The survey required two days of training and three days of field work with in-country costs of less than $2,000. Analyzed results were given to the Ministry of Health at the end of the fifth day.

Volunteers learn how to use handheld computers

The secret of their success was collecting data on handheld computers and synchronizing them to a database kept on a laptop computer. After two days of training, the volunteers, many of whom had never seen a computer before, spent three days interviewing over 2,400 parents who had brought their children for vaccination. The survey collected information on measles and other maternal and child health issues. The Red Cross volunteers also asked about the impact of Red Cross volunteers on social mobilization. All analyses and writing was done by an epidemiologist and information technologist from the American Red Cross who also conducted the training.

This study demonstrated that community-based volunteers using handheld computers can quickly, accurately, and inexpensively conduct complex assessments. These results can be made available to decision-makers within hours of completion of the study. The volunteers had universal praise for the palm-based devices and would welcome using them again. We anticipate working with community volunteers using this technology to assess upcoming measles campaigns in other countries.

The idea of using hand-held computers in data collection was the vision of SATELLIFE, a humanitarian organization based in the Boston area that has used technology to improve health in the developing world since 1989. SATELLIFE provided the all the equipment and programmed survey forms into the devices. Acumen Foundation provided the financial support and the American Red Cross provided in-country technical support. The measles campaign was conducted by the Ghana Ministry of Health with support from the partners: Ghana Red Cross Society, United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children in up to 36 Sub-Saharan African countries. By the year 2005, it is estimated that 1.2 million deaths will have been prevented, bringing measles deaths in Africa to near zero.

For the full story, key findings and survey results, click here.