A case study of an SMS community panel survey and its potential for use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNSTRUCTURED During the COVID-19 pandemic many traditional methods of data collection, such as intercept surveys or focus groups, are not feasible. This paper proposes that establishing community panels through SMS may be a useful method during the pandemic, by describing a case study of how an innovative SMS community panel was used for the 'Shisha No Thanks' project to collect data from young adults of Arabic-speaking background about their attitudes on the harms of waterpipe smoking. Participants were asked to complete an initial recruitment survey, and then subsequently sent one survey question per week. The study recruited 133 participants to the SMS community panel and the mean response rate for each question was 73% (range 58 to 84%). The SMS community panel approach is not suited for all populations, nor all types of inquiry, particularly due to limitations of type of responses that it allows and the required access to mobile devices. However, it is a rapid method for data collection, and therefore during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can provide service providers and policymakers with timely information to inform public health responses. In addition, this method negates the need for in-person interactions and allows for longitudinal data collection. It may be useful in supplementing other community needs assessment activities, and may be particularly relevant for people who are considered to be more difficult to reach, particularly young people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and other groups that might otherwise be missed by traditional methods.