title: Comparison of fieldworker interview and a pictorial diary method for recording morbidity of infants in semi-urban slums.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cohort studies conducted in low-income countries generally use trained fieldworkers for collecting data on home visits. In industrialised countries, researchers use less resource intensive methods, such as self-administered structured questionnaires or symptom diaries. This study compared and assessed the reliability of the data on diarrhoea, fever and cough/cold in children as obtained by a pictorial diary maintained by the mother and collected separately by a fieldworker.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 205 children was randomly selected from an ongoing birth cohort study. Pictorial diaries were distributed weekly to mothers of study children who were asked to maintain a record of morbidity for four weeks. We compared the reliability and completeness of the data on diarrhoea, fever and cough/cold obtained by the two methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 205 participants, 186 (91%) ever made a record in the diary and 62 (30%) mothers maintained the diary for all 28 days. The prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa statistics for diarrhoea, fever, cough/cold and for a healthy child were 92%, 79%, 35% and 35% respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Diary recording was incomplete in the majority of households. When recorded, the morbidity data by the pictorial diary method for acute illnesses were reliable. Strategies are needed to address behavioural factors affecting maternal recording such that field studies can obtain accurate morbidity measurements with limited resources.
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. rjthomas@cmcvellore.ac.in.
authors: Rahul Jacob
authors: RJ
authors: Thomas
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. karthikjpt@gmail.com.
authors: Karthikeyan
authors: K
authors: Ramanujam
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. veluvasanth.cmc@gmail.com.
authors: Vasanthakumar
authors: V
authors: Velusamy
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. saravanakumar@cmcvellore.ac.in.
authors: Saravanakumar
authors: S
authors: Puthupalayam Kaliappan
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. deepthikattula@cmcvellore.ac.in.
authors: Deepthi
authors: D
authors: Kattula
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. jpmuliyil@gmail.com.
authors: Jayaprakash
authors: J
authors: Muliyil
authors: Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, TN, 632004, India. gkang@cmcvellore.ac.in.
authors: Gagandeep
authors: G
authors: Kang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
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