Using a crowdsourcing open call, hackathon and a modified Delphi method to develop a consensus statement and sexual health survey instrument

Abstract

Population health surveys are rarely comprehensive in addressing sexual health, and population-representative surveys often lack standardized measures for collecting comparable data across countries. We present a sexual health survey instrument and implementation considerations for population-level sexual health research. The brief, comprehensive sexual health survey and consensus statement was developed via a multi-step process (an open call, a hackathon, and a modified Delphi process). The survey items, domains, entire instruments, and implementation considerations to develop a sexual health survey were solicited via a global crowdsourcing open call. The open call received 175 contributions from 49 countries. Following review of submissions from the open call, 18 finalists and eight facilitators with expertise in sexual health research, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), were invited to a 3-day hackathon to harmonize a survey instrument. Consensus was achieved through an iterative, modified Delphi process that included three rounds of online surveys. The entire process resulted in a 19-item consensus statement and a 10-minute sexual health survey instrument. This is the first global consensus on a sexual and reproductive health survey instrument that can be used to generate cross-national comparative data in both high-income and LMICs. The inclusive process identified priority domains for improvement and can inform the design of sexual and reproductive health programs and contextually relevant data for comparable research across countries.

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“…Crowdsourcing open call methods have been used in other health research projects to aggregate wisdom from diverse groups of people. (19) The process involved end-users at all stages of the project, including the modified Delphi process that finalized the checklist. Given the recognized importance of end users in health, our process for consensus development may be relevant to other guideline development at the national or global level.…”

How did COVID-19 measures impact sexual behaviour and access to HIV/STI services in Panama? Results from a national cross-sectional online survey

“…The questionnaire was developed in a collaborative effort by the I-SHARE consortium [7]. The questions were partially based on existing survey items and scales [9]. The instrument was implemented in all countries, with items phrased in similar ways but with local vocabulary allowed.…”

“…The questionnaire was collaboratively developed with the I-SHARE consortium [11]. Questions were based on existing survey items and multi-item scales, with some new items developed to address the COVID-19 context [12]. The Panama instrument was translated from the consortium English into Spanish, programmed into OpenDataKit (University of Washington, USA) and pilot-tested with 15 individuals for understanding and acceptability.…”

How did COVID-19 measures impact sexual behaviour and access to HIV/STI services in Panama? Results from a national cross-sectional online survey

“…10 Questions were based on existing survey items and multi-item scales, with some new items developed to address the COVID-19 context. 11 The Panama instrument was translated from the consortium English to Spanish, programmed into Open Data Kit (University of Washington, USA) and pilottested with 15 individuals for understanding and acceptability. Participants completed the online questionnaire in 10-30 min.…”