E-Agriculture

Using CATI to collect data on nutrition indicators

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Using CATI to collect data on nutrition indicators

mVAM at the World Food Programme and World Agroforestry Centre published a case study where Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) was used in Kenya to collect data on nutrition indicators.

In most projects in the field, it is expensive to collect data in some cases in remote areas or conflict areas can also be difficult. CATI was used in rural areas to collect data on two of WFP’s corporate nutrition indicators – Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) and Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDDW).

The project used the CATI to collect nutrition data as through the Face-to-Face (F2F) surveys but using cell phones. Data extracted from these conversations was analysed using NVivo 10 and coded using defined and emerging themes.

As stated in the report, the findings in this project include:-

  • Phone ownership: Women’s mobile phone ownership was found to be high (between 60-90% of women were estimated to ownphones).
  • Mobile phone network: Poor network coverage proved to be the biggest barrier to phone surveys.
  • Phone charging: Although the majority of the households did not have electricity or solar panels, most women charged their phones at least once a week, either at a neighbour’s house or at a local charging shop, and did not consider phone charging as barrier to taking part in mobile surveys.
  • Gender dynamics: A select number of women in Baringo County stated that they would have to seek approval of their husbands prior to participating in mobile phone surveys.

Some of the conclusion and issues to be addressed include:-

  • Preparations for a mobile phone survey should include community consultations to understand optimal times and days to reach respondents.
  • Prior engagement with men/husbands is vital to implement mobile surveys targeting women, especially in areas where cultural or gender norms can be a barrier.

Learn more of this case study here.

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