TY - JOUR AU - Vecino-Ortiz, Andres I AU - Guzman-Tordecilla, Deivis Nicolas AU - Maniar, Vidhi AU - Agudelo-Londoño, Sandra AU - Franco-Suarez, Oscar AU - Aya Pastrana, Nathaly AU - Rodríguez-Patarroyo, Mariana AU - Mejía-Rocha, Marino AU - Cardona, Jaime AU - Chavez Chamorro, Mariangela AU - Gibson, Dustin PY - 2024 DA - 2024/10/17 TI - Mobile Phone Syndromic Surveillance for Respiratory Conditions in an Emergency (COVID-19) Context in Colombia: Representative Survey Design JO - J Med Internet Res SP - e50184 VL - 26 KW - mobile phone surveys KW - syndromic surveillance KW - COVID-19 KW - public health surveillance KW - IVR KW - interactive voice response KW - survey KW - surveys KW - voice response KW - syndromic KW - surveillance KW - respiratory KW - pandemic KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - feasibility KW - data collection KW - public health KW - emergency KW - outbreak KW - mobile phone AB - Background: Syndromic surveillance for respiratory infections such as COVID-19 is a crucial part of the public health surveillance toolkit as it allows decision makers to detect and prepare for new waves of the disease in advance. However, it is labor-intensive, costly, and increases exposure to survey personnel. This study assesses the feasibility of conducting a mobile phone–based respiratory syndromic surveillance program in a middle-income country during a public health emergency, providing data to support the inclusion of this method in the standard infection control protocols at the population level. Objective: This study aims to assess the feasibility of a national active syndromic surveillance system for COVID-19 disease in Colombia. Methods: In total, 2 pilots of syndromic mobile phone surveys (MPSs) were deployed using interactive voice response technology in Colombia (367 complete surveys in March 2022 and 451 complete surveys in April and May 2022). Respondents aged 18 years and older were sampled using random digit dialing, and after obtaining consent, they were sent a 10-minute survey with modules on sociodemographic status, respiratory symptoms, past exposure to COVID-19 infection and vaccination status, preferences about COVID-19 vaccination, and information source for COVID-19. Pilot 1 used a nationally representative sample while pilot 2 used quota sampling to yield representative results at the regional level. In this work, we assessed the performance characteristics of the survey pilots and compared the demographic information collected with a nationally representative household survey. Results: For both pilots, contact rates were between 1% and 2%, while participation rates were above 80%. The results revealed that younger, female, and higher educated participants were more likely to participate in the syndromic survey. Survey rates as well as demographics, COVID-19 vaccination status, and prevalence of respiratory symptoms are reported for both pilots. We found that respondents of the MPSs are more likely to be younger and female. Conclusions: In a COVID-19 pandemic setting, using an interactive voice response MPS to conduct syndromic surveillance may be a transformational, low-risk, and feasible method to detect outbreaks. This evaluation expects to provide a path forward to the inclusion of MPSs as a traditional surveillance method. SN - 1438-8871 UR - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e50184 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/50184 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39418077 DO - 10.2196/50184 ID - info:doi/10.2196/50184 ER -