Using phone surveys to assess the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the delivery of health and nutrition services in rural Ethiopia

This study assesses the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the delivery of health and nutrition services in rural Ethiopia using a phone survey. This three-wave survey will illuminate disruptions to healthcare delivery and adoption of precautionary health behaviors in 251 sub-districts. We seek to uncover how the work of Health Extension Workers (HEWs) has changed during the pandemic; specifically, the extent to which these frontline health providers have been unable to conduct their usual duties or have needed to redirect efforts from previous services such as antenatal, postnatal care, and nutrition messaging to COVID-related activities. In August 2019, IFPRI designed and implemented an in-person survey aimed at understanding the delivery of health and nutrition services by HEWs in four regions of rural Ethiopia. Two-hundred and fifty-six HEWs took part in the survey; 97 per cent provided a phone number. We conducted the first round of follow-up phone interviews in May 2020 and achieved a response rate of 91 per cent, yielding a sample of 233 HEWs. The HEWs will be interviewed again in August and October 2020, to track changes in health service delivery during the pandemic.