@article{fdi:010081048, title = {{T}elephone peer recruitment and interviewing during a respondent-driven sampling ({RDS}) survey : feasibility and field experience from the first phone-based {RDS} survey among men who have sex with men in {C}ote d'{I}voire}, author = {{I}nghels, {M}. and {K}ouassi, {A}. {K}. and {N}iangoran, {S}. and {B}ekelynck, {A}. and {C}arillon, {S}{\'e}verine and {S}ika, {L}. and {K}one, {M}. and {D}anel, {C}. and {D}esgr{\'e}es du {L}oû, {A}nnabel and {L}armarange, {J}oseph and {R}es {T}eam, {A}nrs {D}od-{C}i}, editor = {}, language = {{ENG}}, abstract = {{B}ackground {M}any respondent-driven sampling ({RDS}) methodologies have been employed to investigate hard-to-reach populations; however, these methodologies present some limits. {W}e describe a minimally investigated {RDS} methodology in which peer recruitment and interviewing are phone-based. {T}he feasibility of the methodology, field experiences, validity of {RDS} assumptions and characteristics of the sample obtained are discussed. {M}ethods {W}e conducted a phone-based {RDS} survey among men who have sex with men ({MSM}) aged 18 or above and living in {C}ote d'{I}voire. {E}ight initial {MSM} across {C}ote d'{I}voire were selected. {P}articipants were asked to call a hotline to be registered and interviewed by phone. {A}fter the participants completed the questionnaire, they were asked to recruit a maximum of 3 {MSM} from their acquaintances. {R}esults {D}uring the 9 months of the survey, 576 individuals called the hotline, and 518 {MSM} completed the questionnaire. {T}he median delay between the invitation to participate and the completion of the questionnaire by peer-recruited {MSM} was 4 days [{IQR}: 1-12]. {T}he recruitment process was not constant, with high variation in the number of people who called the hotline during the survey period. {RDS} chain convergence to equilibrium was reached within 6 waves for most of the selected variables. {F}or the network size estimation assumption, participants who incorrectly estimated their network size were observed. {R}egarding the sample obtained, {MSM} were recruited from all the regions of {C}ote d'{I}voire with frequent interregional recruitment; 23.5% of {MSM} were recruited by someone who does not live in the same region. {C}ompared to the {MSM} who participated in two other surveys in {C}ote d'{I}voire, the {MSM} in our sample were less likely to know about an {MSM} non-governmental organisation. {H}owever, {MSM} aged 30 years old and above and those with a low level of education were underrepresented in our sample. {C}onclusion {W}e show that phone-based {RDS} surveys among {MSM} are feasible in the context of sub-{S}aharan {A}frica. {C}ompared to other classical {RDS} survey methodologies, the phone-based {RDS} methodology seems to reduce selection bias based on geography and proximity with the {MSM} community. {H}owever, similar to other methodologies, phone-based {RDS} fails to reach older and less-educated {MSM}.}, keywords = {{P}hone-based survey ; {R}espondent-driven sampling ; {M}en who have sex with men ; {C}{\^o}te d'{I}voire ; {COTE} {D}'{IVOIRE}}, booktitle = {}, journal = {{BMC} {M}edical {R}esearch {M}ethodology}, volume = {21}, numero = {1}, pages = {25 [12 p.]}, year = {2021}, DOI = {10.1186/s12874-021-01208-x}, URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010081048}, }