How to investigate levels of Adherence to antiretroviral ... - INRUD

Chapter 6
Planning and field methods
Train personnel
A key step in preparing for field work is to train the team leaders and data collectors to
collect and code the data in a correct and consistent way. Training is addressed in the next
chapter.
Pilot-test the data collection methods
During the training of the team leaders’ and data collectors’ trainings, the data collection
methods should be piloted at separate facilities to make sure the methods work and that
they are understood. This is an important step which will provide an opportunity to identify
and solve unforeseen problems. It will also identify "natural leaders" who can assist the
other data collectors in case of difficulty.
Experience shows that during the pilot testing the rate of data collection is always very slow.
Data collectors should be reassured that with practice their rate will increase dramatically.
So study planners should not make calculations of the time required at each site based on
this exercise.
Ethics for data collectors
All data collectors should understand that any patient information they receive is
completely confidential. They should not under any circumstances divulge any of
that information to anyone else outside the survey. Depending on where the
survey is carried out, it may be necessary for the data collectors to sign a
confidentiality agreement.
It also needs to be understood that patients have no obligation to give exit interviews. Before
the interview begins the interviewer should communicate the purpose of the interview and
give an assurance of confidentiality. At that point, the patient needs to be asked for their
consent to continue with the interview. If the patient agrees, only at that point should the
interview begin.
To select the sample of patients for the retrospective sample from the attendance register, the
patient identifier form is used. For this only the patient identification number is recorded,
not the name. This will enable the pharmacy records to be found in the most anonymous
way possible.
Collecting data
Remember to arrive at the same time as the clinic opens to set up before the main rush of the
day starts. After introducing the team members to the facility manager, the team needs to
quickly decide:
How can they sample the retrospective records?
Where they can sit to extract the data from the records?
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