Assessing the external validity of mobile phone surveys for monitoring ITN coverage indicators: a comparison with household surveys in Tanzania
MPS consistently underestimated household ITN access compared to contemporaneous household surveys, but the direction and magnitude of bias were stable across years. While this limits their use as a direct substitute for household surveys, MPS may still offer timely, conservative signals of declining coverage where other data are delayed or unavailable. With further validation and potential adjustment for bias, MPS could complement traditional monitoring approaches, especially in contexts where rapid data are needed to guide programme decisions.
Authors
- Hannah Koenker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8960-4297)
- Peter Gitanya
- Joshua Yukich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6160-5295)
- Charles Dismas Mwalimu
- Neil Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8438-319X)
- Hannah Metcalfe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7437-9186)
- Ester Elisaria (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7106-2423)
- Ruth A. Ashton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7248-7730)
- Frank Chacky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6521-9156)
- Paul Hutchinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5435-7799)
- Matt Worges
- Janna Wisniewski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-5801)
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Ifakara Health Institute (TZ)
- Tulane University (US)
- Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (TZ)
- Israel Ministry of Health (IL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Malaria Journal
- Published
- 2025-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05533-0
- Primary Topic
- ICT in Developing Communities
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation