Reliability of self-reported mobile phone ownership in rural north-central Nigeria: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: mHealth practitioners seek to leverage the ubiquity of the mobile phone to increase the impact and robustness of their interventions, particularly in resource-limited settings. However, data on the reliability of self-reported mobile phone access is minimal. Objective: We sought to ascertain the reliability of self-reported ownership of and access to mobile phones among a population of rural dwellers in north-central Nigeria. Methods: We contacted participants in a community-based HIV testing program by phone to determine actual as opposed to self-reported mobile phone access. A phone script was designed to conduct these calls and descriptive analyses conducted on the findings. Results: We dialed 349 numbers: 110 (31.5%) were answered by participants who self-reported ownership of the mobile phone; 123 (35.2%) of the phone numbers did not ring at all; 28 (8.0%) rang but were not answered; and 88 (25.2%) were answered by someone other than the participant. We reached a higher proportion of male participants (68/133, 51.1%) than female participants (42/216, 19.4%; P