KoBo: A Digital Tool, in Psychosocial Needs Assessment of Children in Post Disaster Resiliency Settings.

Srihari Cattamanchi1,3, Moira Hennessy2,3, Sara Carson3, Majed Aljohani1,3, Abdulrahman S. Alqahtani1,3,Phough Pham2, Patrick Vinck2, Michael S Molloy1, Gregory R. Ciottone1,3

OBJECTIVES

1.Harvard Affiliated Disaster Medicine Emergency Medicine Fellowship, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 2.Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Cambridge, MA3.Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, MA

METHODS

Official hospital of theBoston Red Sox

CONCLUSION

RESULTSINTRODUCTION• The KoBo platform (developed by Phuong Pham,

Patrick Vinck and John Etherton) is a free, open access resource for creation of digital forms and research structures, data collection, consolidation and analysis.

• KoBo has been designed for rapid implementation in austere conditions, and has been used in various third world countries of Africa and Asia.

To pilot use of KoBo as a digital tool and to explore its utility in psychosocial assessment of children in unique research settings.

• Using the KoBo toolkit a total of 130 children and 15 caregivers were interviewed at 6 CiH orphanages successfully by 2 local community health workers, supported by an expatriate social worker and psychologist in August 2012.

• The local and expatriate research team reported:• KoBo allowed for “easier” collection of data in a

shorter period of time.• The platform was easily understood and

mastered by interviewers, with a brief overview of how to use the cell-phone technology.

• The non-paper format was easier to back up, transport, was cost-effective and time saving.

• Children appeared comfortable conducting interviews with staff using this technology, and did not appear distracted by its use.

• Syncing of data daily, allowed for rapid informal feedback of the data to inform ongoing activities with sites in real time.

• Researchers subjective report of the data, suggested that this format lead to less unanswered responses than experienced elsewhere, and attention to time stamping

• KoBo Toolkit was useful in psychosocial assessment of children in a post-disaster Haitian setting.

• Interviewers and researchers found it to be an appropriate research tool to streamline the data collection process and allow for connection with participants.

• An observational study, piloted the use of KoBo platform in post disaster resiliency settings of Haiti, aiding in psychosocial needs assessment of the vulnerable population.

• KoBo Form was used to create a quantitative & qualitative assessment form.

• The data were collected using KoBoCollect installed on Android Mobile phones.

• The data was synchronized onto our Laptop using KoboSync, converted into excel database, and analyzed via SPSS.

• With regard to feedback on KoBo toolkit, individual reporting and daily research team debriefing on use of the toolkit offered subjective reports on experience & appropriateness of KoBo toolkit.

KoBo Process

REFERENCE

• http://www.kobotoolbox.org/• http://www.kobotoolbox.org/about/kobo-research• http://www.kobotoolbox.org/about/system-

diagram