BACKGROUND: A number of methods have been used to estimate lymphatic filariasis (LF) morbidity, including: routine programmatic data, cluster random surveys and the "town crier" method. Currently, few accurate data exist on the global LF morbidity burden in Tanzania. We aimed to estimate prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele in Mtwara Municipal Council using mobile phone based survey. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults of Mtwara Municipal council with access to mobile phones. A sample size of at least 384 completed surveys was required to estimate prevalence of lymphedema (both males and females) and hydrocele (males only) morbidity of 50% within a 5% error margin given a 5% level of significance and 95% confidence level. Eligible mobile phone users received a short message text (SMS) requesting consent to participate in the survey. A total of 10 questions were administered via interactive SMS through the GeoPoll, a survey platform developed by Mobile Accord (www.geopoll.com). RESULTS: The survey was completed over a period of 4 days. A total of 8,759 surveys were sent to mobile phone subscribers of whom 1,330 (15.2%) opted-in to complete the survey. A total of 492 (37.0% of those opted-in, 384 male and 108 female) people completed the survey. Lymphedema and hydrocele signs were reported by 20.9% (95% CI, 17.4-24.8) and 20.6% (95% CI, 16.6-25.0) of respondents, respectively. Majority of hydrocele patients (59.5%) and 46.6% of lymphedema patients reported having sought treatment. The proportion of patients reporting similar symptoms among friends and relatives was 66.0% and 70.9% for lymphedema and hydrocele, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that mobile phone based surveys are a practical approach of undertaking morbidity surveys. While further surveys are needed to verify the findings, this approach can be expected to encourage identification of lymphedema and hydrocele morbidity at community level and provide evidence where further morbidity surveys are warranted.
BACKGROUND: A number of methods have been used to estimate lymphatic filariasis (LF) morbidity, including: routine programmatic data, cluster random surveys and the "town crier" method. Currently, few accurate data exist on the global LF morbidity burden in Tanzania. We aimed to estimate prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele in Mtwara Municipal Council using mobile phone based survey. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults of Mtwara Municipal council with access to mobile phones. A sample size of at least 384 completed surveys was required to estimate prevalence of lymphedema (both males and females) and hydrocele (males only) morbidity of 50% within a 5% error margin given a 5% level of significance and 95% confidence level. Eligible mobile phone users received a short message text (SMS) requesting consent to participate in the survey. A total of 10 questions were administered via interactive SMS through the GeoPoll, a survey platform developed by Mobile Accord (www.geopoll.com). RESULTS: The survey was completed over a period of 4 days. A total of 8,759 surveys were sent to mobile phone subscribers of whom 1,330 (15.2%) opted-in to complete the survey. A total of 492 (37.0% of those opted-in, 384 male and 108 female) people completed the survey. Lymphedema and hydrocele signs were reported by 20.9% (95% CI, 17.4-24.8) and 20.6% (95% CI, 16.6-25.0) of respondents, respectively. Majority of hydrocele patients (59.5%) and 46.6% of lymphedemapatients reported having sought treatment. The proportion of patients reporting similar symptoms among friends and relatives was 66.0% and 70.9% for lymphedema and hydrocele, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that mobile phone based surveys are a practical approach of undertaking morbidity surveys. While further surveys are needed to verify the findings, this approach can be expected to encourage identification of lymphedema and hydrocele morbidity at community level and provide evidence where further morbidity surveys are warranted.
Authors: Michelle C Stanton; Square Z Mkwanda; Alexander Y Debrah; Linda Batsa; Nana-Kwadwo Biritwum; Achim Hoerauf; Matthew Cliffe; Abigail Best; Andrew Molineux; Louise A Kelly-Hope Journal: BMC Infect Dis Date: 2015-05-16 Impact factor: 3.090
Authors: Paul E Simonsen; Yahya A Derua; Stephen M Magesa; Erling M Pedersen; Anna-Sofie Stensgaard; Mwelecele N Malecela; William N Kisinza Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2014-11-12 Impact factor: 3.876
Authors: Paul E Simonsen; Yahya A Derua; William N Kisinza; Stephen M Magesa; Mwele N Malecela; Erling M Pedersen Journal: BMC Infect Dis Date: 2013-07-21 Impact factor: 3.090
Authors: Anthony W Solomon; Alexandre L Pavluck; Paul Courtright; Agatha Aboe; Liknaw Adamu; Wondu Alemayehu; Menbere Alemu; Neal D E Alexander; Amir Bedri Kello; Berhanu Bero; Simon J Brooker; Brian K Chu; Michael Dejene; Paul M Emerson; Rebecca M Flueckiger; Solomon Gadisa; Katherine Gass; Teshome Gebre; Zelalem Habtamu; Erik Harvey; Dominic Haslam; Jonathan D King; Richard Le Mesurier; Susan Lewallen; Thomas M Lietman; Chad MacArthur; Silvio P Mariotti; Anna Massey; Els Mathieu; Addis Mekasha; Tom Millar; Caleb Mpyet; Beatriz E Muñoz; Jeremiah Ngondi; Stephanie Ogden; Joseph Pearce; Virginia Sarah; Alemayehu Sisay; Jennifer L Smith; Hugh R Taylor; Jo Thomson; Sheila K West; Rebecca Willis; Simon Bush; Danny Haddad; Allen Foster Journal: Ophthalmic Epidemiol Date: 2015 Impact factor: 1.648