TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of strategies for daily surveillance of international travellers quarantined in Vanuatu, October–December 2020
AU - van Gemert, Caroline
AU - Williams, Wendy
AU - Mariasua, Joanne
AU - Fred, Debbie
AU - Cornish, Matthew
AU - Tarivonda, Len
AU - Tapo, Posikai Samuel
AU - Atua, Vincent
AU - Manwo, Obed
AU - Guyant, Philippe
AU - Iavro, Lola
AU - Clark, Geoff
N1 - Funding Information:
The Vanuatu Health Program funded this research. The Vanuatu Health Program is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian Aid Program.
Funding Information:
Caroline van Gemert holds an Early Career Research Fellowship, funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The other authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, World Health Organization. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objective: To prevent importation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to Vanuatu, since March 2020, all travellers to the country have been required to complete a 14-day quarantine in a government-designated facility. A short message service (SMS, or “text message”) system was developed to collect information on symptoms of COVID-19 among travellers in quarantine. A trial within a cohort study was conducted among travellers arriving to Vanuatu by air from 27 October to 7 December 2020 to assess SMS acceptability, efficiency and utility and whether SMS-based health monitoring was as effective as in-person monitoring in identifying people with COVID-19 symptoms. Methods: Control group participants received standard monitoring (daily in-person visits) and participants in the intervention group received a daily SMS text requesting a response coded for symptom development. Differences between the two groups were determined using χ2 tests. Results: Of the 495 eligible travellers, 423 participated; 170 were allocated to the control group and 253 to the intervention group. At least one return SMS text was received from 50% (107/212) of participants who were confirmed to have received an SMS text. Less than 2% (4/253) of the intervention group and 0% of the control group reported symptoms. Discussion: The SMS intervention had a high level of acceptability. SMS is a useful tool to monitor symptom development among people in quarantine and for broader public health programmes that require follow up.
AB - Objective: To prevent importation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to Vanuatu, since March 2020, all travellers to the country have been required to complete a 14-day quarantine in a government-designated facility. A short message service (SMS, or “text message”) system was developed to collect information on symptoms of COVID-19 among travellers in quarantine. A trial within a cohort study was conducted among travellers arriving to Vanuatu by air from 27 October to 7 December 2020 to assess SMS acceptability, efficiency and utility and whether SMS-based health monitoring was as effective as in-person monitoring in identifying people with COVID-19 symptoms. Methods: Control group participants received standard monitoring (daily in-person visits) and participants in the intervention group received a daily SMS text requesting a response coded for symptom development. Differences between the two groups were determined using χ2 tests. Results: Of the 495 eligible travellers, 423 participated; 170 were allocated to the control group and 253 to the intervention group. At least one return SMS text was received from 50% (107/212) of participants who were confirmed to have received an SMS text. Less than 2% (4/253) of the intervention group and 0% of the control group reported symptoms. Discussion: The SMS intervention had a high level of acceptability. SMS is a useful tool to monitor symptom development among people in quarantine and for broader public health programmes that require follow up.
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U2 - 10.5365/wpsar.2022.13.2.918
DO - 10.5365/wpsar.2022.13.2.918
M3 - Article
C2 - 36276173
AN - SCOPUS:85140348473
SN - 2094-7321
VL - 13
JO - Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR
JF - Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR
IS - 1
ER -
