Using innovative nonverbal interviewing methods to protect the privacy of participants, Associate Professor of Sociology David Lindstrom has developed a method for obtaining more honest answers from Ethiopian adolescents to questions about their reproductive health.
Lindstrom said this nonverbal response method makes for more accurate responses because the Ethiopian adolescents his group interviews are not required to verbalize answers to personal questions about their sexual activity and reproductive health. This innovative method could be used to conduct health surveys in other places, as it is an easy, economical way to conduct research, he said.
For over nine years, Lindstrom and researchers from Brown, Emory University and two Ethiopian universities have been studying topics including sexual behavior among adolescents, access to contraceptives, awareness of HIV and the various issues young people face during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, Lindstrom said.
Due to the personal nature and sensitivity of the questions asked during the interviews, Lindstrom said it was important to ensure participant privacy. The researchers also needed to find a nonverbal interview technique for people who may not be literate or know how to use computers, he added.
To protect participants' anonymity, Lindstrom's group developed a method to conduct interviews using response cards. A card is placed between the interviewer and the participant so that the interviewer cannot see the participant's side of the card. The participant's side contains a grid with possible answers to questions, such as the words "yes" and "no." Each possible answer then has a small hole punched in the card directly below it. To answer a question, the participant sticks a small rod through the hole corresponding to his or her answer. The interviewer records the hole that was chosen by the participant without knowing which hole corresponds to which answer. A master key is then used to decode the survey answers.
Lindstrom's group interviews Ethiopians between the ages of 15 and 25. Each individual is followed for five years and is periodically interviewed during those years.
Researchers then compile and analyze data from the interviews, and publish policy briefs to summarize the findings, Lindstrom said. The policy briefs are short memos that contain data and statistics from the survey as well as policy recommendations to improve health and well-being.
Lindstrom said these policy briefs include suggestions to health service providers for improving reproductive health.
Another major component of the project was collaboration with Ethiopian universities, including Jimma University. Faculty members at Jimma University were closely involved in the research, and Lindstrom said he frequently travels to Ethiopia to run workshops and work directly with native Ethiopians.
