ABSTRACT
It is challenging to quantitatively measure vulnerability and risk factors of refugees and migrants residing outside of formal settlement settings. For hard-to-reach populations without available sampling frames, researchers have increasingly turned to novel sampling and statistical methods, like respondent-driven sampling (RDS). 'Standard' RDS is typically conducted face-to-face at fixed sites. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face survey methods and recruitment approaches posed high potential risk of virus transmission and infection, making remote RDS approaches optimal. This paper explores the feasibility of implementing phone and Internet RDS strategies to assess challenges faced by Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the city of Bogotá, Colombia's capital, and the department of Norte de Santander, the main Venezuelan-Colombian border crossing site. The authors describe RDS assumptions, survey design, formative research, and the implementation of both strategies and present diagnostics to determine whether assumptions are met. Phone-based recruitment strategies in both locations and the Internet strategy in Bogotá achieved their calculated sample size, however the Internet strategy in Norte de Santander did not. Most RDS assumptions were sufficiently met in sites where sample sizes were reached. These surveys provide valuable lessons learned for implementing innovative remote strategies to study hard-to-reach populations such as refugees and migrants.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To determine factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures, related symptoms and testing, as well as pandemic-related income loss among Venezuelan refugee and migrant adults in urban and border areas of Colombia. DESIGN: Phone-based respondent-driven sampling SETTING: Bogotá and Norte de Santander, Colombia. PARTICIPANTS: 605 adult Venezuelan refugees and migrants residing in Bogotá (n=305) and Norte de Santander (n=300), who arrived in Colombia after 2014 and completed the survey in August and September 2020. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Full COVID-19 compliance (vs incomplete or no compliance), any COVID-19-related symptoms (vs none) and income loss due to isolation measures in Colombia (vs no income change or increase in income). RESULTS: Older age was associated with lower odds of compliance with physical distancing measures (0.94, 0.90-0.99; p=0.01) for those in Bogotá. Nearly 15% of refugees and migrants in both locations (81 of 605) experienced at least one symptom consistent with COVID-19. Having a health condition was associated with higher odds of experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms in Bogotá (4.00, 1.22-13.06; p=0.02) and Norte de Santander (6.99, 1.95-24.99; p=0.003). Around 8% in both locations (48 of 605) were tested for COVID-19. Around 90% in both locations (537 of 605) had trouble earning an income after the introduction of isolation measures, and the median reported monthly income decreased by half in Bogotá and by 30% in Norte de Santander. A higher level of education (3.46, 1.02-11.75; p=0.05) was associated with higher odds of income loss among participants in Norte de Santander. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate high compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures, low testing rates and high pandemic-related income loss among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia. This study provides insights into a hard-to-reach refugee and migrant population in Colombia; additional study on the effects of the pandemic on hidden populations is warranted.