Public Health Survey Fieldwork Research in Resource Limited Settings: Reflections from Uganda and Zimbabwe

Globally, development of public health related policy requires routine data collection to provide evidence for public health interventions. Therefore, innumerable public health research has been conducted to monitor public health outcomes, progress, and provide evidence for health policy change in many parts of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence on experiences of conducting public health research through data collection in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited despite the bulk of surveys conducted in this continent. There are limited studies that have documented the experiences and practicalities of conducting health survey fieldwork in such settings. This chapter gives a general overview of individual cross-sectional surveys conducted in Uganda and Zimbabwe to collect both administrative and survey data. The chapter briefly explains the survey methods, reflects on the challenges faced and lessons learnt from the fieldwork experience. The chapter concludes with practical adaptive strategies in planning and fieldwork research to minimise survey challenges, important for future public health data collection in similar resource limited setting.