TABLE 1.
Main methodological similarities and differences in the face‐to‐face (pre‐pandemic) and phone (post‐pandemic) pilots conducted as part of the World Mental Health Qatar Survey.
| Methodological variables | Face‐to‐face pilot design | Telephone pilot design |
|---|---|---|
| Timeframe | Pre‐pandemic: 16 January – February 9, 2020 (total number of 22 days) | Post‐pandemic: October 21, 2020 – December 20, 2020 (total number of 60 days) |
| Sampling method (frame and sampling design) | Based on a sampling frame of all housing units in Qatar, a stratified sample of households were constructed from eight municipalities | With support from cell phone providers in Qatar, a stratified probability sample was constructed based on list‐assisted dialing |
| Sample size | 345 completed interviews | 427 completed interviews |
| Study population | Representative sample of Arabic speakers only: Qatari and non‐Qatari (Arab), males and females, age 18 years and above | Representative sample of Arabic speakers only: Qatari and non‐Qatari (Arab), males and females, age 18 years and above |
| Questionnaire | 20 CIDI (version 3.3) and 5 non‐CIDI sections assessing the following: Sociodemographic, physical and mental health history, major depression, persistent depression, mania, generalized anxiety, panic, posttraumatic stress, social anxiety disorders, psychotic experiences, anger attacks, suicide, treatment, tobacco and drug use, employment, finance, personal relations, childhood trauma, Montreal Cognitive assessment, resilience and schizotypal personality questionnaire | 16 CIDI (version 3.3) and 2 non‐CIDI sections assessing the following: Sociodemographic, physical and mental health history, COVID‐19 health, major depression, mania, generalized anxiety, panic, obsessive compulsive, posttraumatic disorders, psychotic experiences, treatment, employment, finance, personal relations, childhood trauma, and schizotypal personality questionnaire. |
| Study recruitment method | Support letter from the Ministry of public health along with a study brochure as part of a study information package given to participants on first household visit | SMS sent within 24 h ahead of first call and monetary incentives |
| Administration technology | The questionnaire was programmed using Blaise 5.2 (Blaise, 2017)—a multiplatform software. Computer Assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) for most survey instrument modules. Audio Computer‐Assisted Self‐Interviewing (ACASI) Blaise feature for a few sensitive modules | The questionnaire was programmed using Blaise 5.2 (Blaise, 2017)—a multiplatform software. All of the survey instrument modules were administered using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) |
| Number of active survey interviewers | 27 interviewers (20 female, 7 Male) 10 Head of groups | 19 interviewers (17 females, 2 males) |
| Supervision structure | Two full‐time (unit manager and his assistant) managers, 4 supervisors (2 out of the 4 supervisors directly oversaw the male interviewers, while the remaining 2 oversaw the female interviewers and their head of groups) | Two full‐time (unit manager and his assistant) managers assisted by 3 student workers, 4 data quality monitors, and 6 direct supervisors. In addition, 3 research team members assisted the team by contributing more towards interview monitoring efforts |
| Data collection structure | Each interviewing group consisted of two female interviewers and one male head of group except for male interviewers who worked alone | Interviewers initially started from one sample but then the cases were programmatically bound to the interviewer of contact unless a gender match or, in some cases, dialect match was deemed appropriate |
| Quality control tool | The QCIS tool was developed for the CAPI mode in collaboration with IT teams at SESRI Qatar University and University of Michigan | The CAPI QCIS tool was adapted for CATI mode |
| Quality control indicators |
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Abbreviations: CAPI, Computer‐Assisted Personal Interviewing; CATI, Computer‐Assisted Telephone Interviewing; CIDI, Composite International Diagnostic Instrument; QCIS, Quality Control Interviewing System.