Citizen science as a tool for arboviral vector surveillance in a resourced-constrained setting: results of a pilot study in Honiara, Solomon Islands, 2019

Abstract

Background Recent arboviral disease outbreaks highlight the value a better understanding of the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes across spatial-temporal scales can provide. Traditional surveillance tools are limited by jurisdictional boundaries, workforce constraints, logistics, and cost; factors that in low- and middle-income countries often conspire to undermine public health protection efforts. To overcome these, we undertake a pilot study designed to explore if citizen science provides a feasible strategy for arboviral vector surveillance in small developing Pacific island contexts. Methods We recruited, trained, and equipped community volunteers to trap and type mosquitos within their household settings, and to report count data to a central authority by short-message-service. Mosquito catches were independently assessed to measure participants’ mosquito identification accuracy. Other data were collected to measure the frequency and stability of reporting, and volunteers’ experiences. Results Participants collected data for 78.3% of the study period, and agreement between the volunteer citizen scientists’ and the reviewing entomologist’s mosquito identification was 94%. Opportunity to contribute to a project of social benefit, the chance to learn new skills, and the frequency of engagement with project staff were prime motivators for participation. Unstable electricity supply (required to run the trap’s fan), insufficient personal finances (to buy electricity and phone credit), and inconvenience were identified as barriers to sustained participation. Conclusions While there are challenges to address, our findings suggest that citizen science offers an opportunity to overcome the human resource constraints that conspire to limit health authorities’ capacity to monitor arboviral vectors across populations. We note that the success of citizen science-based surveillance is dependent on the appropriate selection of equipment and participants, and the quality of engagement and support provided.

Methodological Diversity in Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance: A Scoping Review

“…Also, in the same program, households received feedback to take specific actions to manage mosquito breeding sites (Suwanbamrung et al, 2018). Also, facilitated engagement between citizens and scientists was reported in different programs and countries (Lwin 2017;Parra et al 2020;Craig et al 2021).…”

“…Also, pilot projects were described in the Solomon Islands and in Rwanda, aiming to identify the opportunities and challenges to establish citizen science-based programs in these areas (Murindahabi et al 2019;Craig et al 2021). The citizen science engagement in Honiara, Solomon Islands, showed potential to upscale capacity for mosquito data collection locally.…”

“…The citizen science engagement in Honiara, Solomon Islands, showed potential to upscale capacity for mosquito data collection locally. Participants also reported being motivated to participate in programs of social benefit and to take opportunities to learn new skills (Craig et al, 2021).…”

Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance by Ad Hoc Observation Using the iNaturalist Platform

“…The potential of iNaturalist for detecting vector species was also verified in Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle East [19], and the results indicated that the iNaturalist platform could complement existing vector surveillance data. Citizen science initiatives on mosquito surveillance are also emerging in tropical countries and areas where dengue and malaria are endemic [22,56,57], and ethical issues were discussed in a community-based program in Nicaragua and Mexico [58]. As ethical discussions underlining communitybased research have shown, researchers should ensure that individuals and communities have the autonomy to monitor and control the vectors in their properties and have a safe space for a dialogue focusing on mutual respect and community health [58].…”

Digital Citizen Science for Responding to COVID-19 Crisis: Experiences from Iran

“…Recently, the field of citizen science has aroused increasing interest in various areas of health and biomedical sciences such as epidemiological monitoring, health behavior surveillance, environmental health study, molecular biology, and genomics (for more information, see [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]). However, to date, relatively less contribution has been made to this area compared to well-established areas of citizen science such as ecology, conservation, earth sciences, and astronomy [22].…”