Evaluating audio computer assisted self-interviews in urban South African communities: evidence for good suitability and reduced social desirability bias of a cross-sectional survey on sexual behaviour.

Background: Efficient HIV prevention requires accurate identification of individuals with risky sexual behaviour. However, self-reported data from sexual behaviour surveys are prone to social desirability bias (SDB). Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI) has been suggested as an alternat...

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Publicado en:BMC Medical Research Methodology Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 11 - 12
Autores principales: Beauclair, Roxanne, Meng, Fei, Deprez, Nele, Temmerman, Marleen, Welte, Alex, Hens, Niel, Delva, Wim
Formato: research Journal Article
Publicado: BioMed Central 2013
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Evaluating audio computer assisted self-interviews in urban South African communities: evidence for good suitability and reduced social desirability bias of a cross-sectional survey on sexual behaviour.
      aug:
        au:
          Beauclair, Roxanne
          Meng, Fei
          Deprez, Nele
          Temmerman, Marleen
          Welte, Alex
          Hens, Niel
          Delva, Wim
        affil: The South African Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation (DST/NRF) Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA), Stellenbosch University, 19 Jonkershoek Road, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa. roxanne.beauclair@gmail.com.
      sug:
        subj:
          Audiovisuals
          Interviews Methods
          Sexuality
          Social Behavior
          User-Computer Interface
          Adult
          Demography
          Attitude to Computers
          Computer Terminals Utilization
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Female
          Human
          Male
          Middle Age
          Program Evaluation
          Questionnaires
          South Africa
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Female
          Male
      ab: Background: Efficient HIV prevention requires accurate identification of individuals with risky sexual behaviour. However, self-reported data from sexual behaviour surveys are prone to social desirability bias (SDB). Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI) has been suggested as an alternative to face-to-face interviewing (FTFI), because it may promote interview privacy and reduce SDB. However, little is known about the suitability and accuracy of ACASI in urban communities with high HIV prevalence in South Africa. To test this, we conducted a sexual behaviour survey in Cape Town, South Africa, using ACASI methods.Methods: Participants (n = 878) answered questions about their sexual relationships on a touch screen computer in a private mobile office. We included questions at the end of the ACASI survey that were used to assess participants' perceived ease of use, privacy, and truthfulness. Univariate logistic regression models, supported by multivariate models, were applied to identify groups of people who had adverse interviewing experiences. Further, we constructed male-female ratios of self-reported sexual behaviours as indicators of SDB. We used these indicators to compare SDB in our survey and in recent FTFI-based Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) from Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.Results: Most participants found our methods easy to use (85.9%), perceived privacy (96.3%) and preferred ACASI to other modes of inquiry (82.5%) when reporting on sexual behaviours. Unemployed participants and those in the 40-70 year old age group were the least likely to find our methods easy to use (OR 0.69; 95% CI: 0.47-1.01 and OR 0.37; 95% CI: 0.23-0.58, respectively). In our survey, the male-female ratio for reporting >2 sexual partners in the past year, a concurrent relationship in the past year, and > 2 sexual partners in a lifetime was 3.4, 2.6, and 1.2, respectively- far lower than the ratios observed in the Demographic and Health Surveys.Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that most participants in our survey found the ACASI modality to be acceptable, private, and user-friendly. Moreover, our results indicate lower SDB than in FTFI techniques. Targeting older and unemployed participants for ACASI training prior to taking the survey may help to improve their perception of ease and privacy.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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