Figure10: Supervisor training. Fieldwork was carried out by30enumerators under the supervision
of8supervisors. Supervisors included researchers from MU, UEM, and ATPS and qualified representatives from the DPOPH and DPS of Nampula. Supervisor training occurred over three days and was critical for sharing methodological considerations, preparing for enumerator training and piloting, and discussing field work schedules and quality control methods. During supervisor training, the household survey, water point survey, and public sanitation facility surveys were discussed in depth. Additionally, we laid out a clear local protocol communication strategy to ensure that community leaders and institutions were properly informed of our project and engaged at appropriate times so that fieldwork could proceed according to schedule.
The recruitment of enumerators for training was spearheaded by UEM and focused on undergraduate students at local univer- sities73
with previous experience with household surveys. In the 73
UniLúrio, Teaching University (UP), Catholic University of Mozambique, etc.
recruitment process, close attention was paid to gender balance and fluency in the local dialect, Makhuwa. The focus on university stu- dents was in part due to the complexity of the household survey and, consequently, the need for enumerators who could quickly un- derstand the aims and proper implementation of the survey. It also served as a capacity building opportunity, giving them insights into the logistics of running a household survey, sampling methodology and random household selection in a peri-urban context, and the importance of mitigating response bias when carrying out surveys through strict adherence to question wording.
Ultimately, fifty enumerators (23females,27males) were re- cruited for five days of training and piloting in the city of Nampula. Training included a clear exposition of the project, a methodical explanation of the household survey, its three sections, individual questions, use of visual cards to assist respondents, and strategies for increasing response rates. Close attention was paid to sensi- tivities around questions pertaining to finances, and we stressed the importance of these questions to our analyses74
. Training also 74
This was also relayed to community leaders in the hopes that this might increase response rates for questions related to finances.
included a significant amount of role-playing to better familiarise enumerators with the questions, highlight common mistakes, and enable enumerators to more fluidly carry out surveys. At the end of training, enumerators were apprised of daily schedules, emergency procedures, and human ethics considerations.
Training also included pertinent language considerations. While most residents of Nampula are conversant in Portuguese, this is not the case in Ribáuè and Liúpo, where many residents speak only inland or coastal Makhuwa dialects, respectively. Makhuwa language experts produced a joint Portuguese/Makhuwa version of the household survey to be used for reference by enumerators. As Makhuwa does not have a written form, the experts presented a crash course in how to phonetically read Makhuwa, and then they explained important differences between inland and coastal Makhuwa in terms of terminology for specific water point and sanitation facility types to ensure that these were properly recorded
in surveys. Figure12: Piloting in Nampula.
After enumerator training, piloting was carried out in Nampula city in accordance with sampling procedures that would be used in the field. Not only did this create real face-to-face interview experience and highlight any issues with the survey instrument that might need to be addressed, but it also familiarised enumerators with the use of GPS devices and orientation support materials and how sampling of households would be carried out in the field.
Figure13: Administration of the household survey in Liúpo.
A competitive selection procedure was used to select a final group of enumerators. This selection was based on a number of factors including trainees’ performances in terms of accurate sur- vey completion, understanding of the survey, and communication and language skills. In total,30enumerators (composed of15fe- males and15males) were selected for fieldwork. Enumerators were assigned for fieldwork in either Nampula, Ribáuè, or Liúpo, and assignment of enumerators to the three locations took into con- sideration gender balance, language capabilities75
, and religious 75
Those engaging in fieldwork in Ribáuè and Liúpo were required to be fluent in Makhuwa.
affiliation76 .
76
Ribáuè is predominantly Christian, whereas Liúpo is predominantly Muslim.
Assignment of supervisors and enumerators to the three loca- tions was as shown in Table6with equal numbers of male and female enumerators for each location. Fieldwork was carried out from November9-22with all enumerators and supervisors carrying out fieldwork in the city of Nampula for the first two days to help ensure that any potential issues with enumerators or procedures could be addressed before groups travelled to their respective sites.
b ac k g ro u n d t o t h e p ro j e c t 43
Town/City Supervisors Enumerators
Nampula 2 10
Ribáuè 4 14
Liúpo 2 6
Total 8 30
Table6: Assignment of supervisors and enumerators to the city of Nam- pula and towns of Ribáuè and Liúpo for fieldwork.