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Observe Before You Leap: Why Observation Provides Critical Insights for Formative Research and Intervention Design That You'll Never Get From Focus Groups, Interviews, or KAP Surveys

Steven A. Harvey
Global Health: Science and Practice June 2018, 6(2):299-316; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00328

Figures & Tables

Figures

  • FIGURE 1
    FIGURE 1

    Percentage of Domestic Poultry Corrals Containing Food or Water During Weekly Random Observations, Lima, Peru (N=122 Observations)

  • FIGURE 2
    FIGURE 2

    Contrast Between Human and Animal Living Spaces Documented Through Observation, Las Pampas de San Juan de Miraflores, Peru

    Project-constructed poultry corral (left foreground) vs. human habitation (center background). Project participants sometimes joked that the birds in the project enjoyed a better standard of living than the people. © 1999 Steven Harvey.

  • FIGURE 3
    FIGURE 3

    Percentage of the Population in Bed by Half-Hour (N=60 Observations) Compared With Anopheles darlingi Feeding Behavior,a Department of Loreto, Peru

    a Data on mosquito feeding behavior come from Vittor (2003).41

  • FIGURE 4
    FIGURE 4

    Demonstration of the Correct Hand Position for Manual Removal of a Retained Placenta on an Anatomical Model

    © 2006 Steven Harvey

  • FIGURE 5
    FIGURE 5

    Neonatal Resuscitation With an Ambu Bag: Correct vs. Incorrect Positioning

    Left: Correct positioning of mask, bag, and newborn's head to achieve a good seal, with bag perpendicular to the newborn's body. © 2006 Steven Harvey.

    Right: Incorrect positioning, with bag parallel with the newborn's body, making it more difficult to achieve a good seal. © 2002 Steven Harvey.

  • FIGURE 6
    FIGURE 6

    Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test Job Aid

    A job aid for community health workers lists at the top all supplies and equipment that the worker needs to assemble prior to conducting a rapid diagnostic test for malaria.

Tables

  • TABLE.

    Observational Bed Net Entry and Exit Data From a Single Sleeping Space With 2 Occupants, a 23-Year-Old Mother and Her 2-Year-Old Son, Peruvian Amazon

    TimeEntry (+)/Exit (−) [Minutes Outside Net Before Reentering]Comments
    Mother (P1)Child (P2)
    19:00+/− [145 min]+P1 gets into net with P2, then gets back out, does housework, cares for pigs, chickens.
    20:50P1 straightens up kitchen, talks with observer.
    21:25+/− [37 min]−/+ [1 min]P1 removes P2 from net, takes him to urinate. Both get back into net. P1 gets back out of net.
    21:30− [17 min]P2 gets back out of net, sits with P1.
    21:47+P2 gets back into net.
    21:55− [7 min]P2 gets back out of net, goes to find P1.
    22:02++P1 & P2 get into net.
    22:06−/+ [1 min]P1 gets out of net to look for socks for P2, finds socks, gets back in.
    22:10−/+ [1 min]P1 gets out of net to close bedroom door, gets back in.
    01:45−/+ [1 min]P1 gets out of net to get juice for P2, then gets back in & helps P2 drink juice.
    01:47− [5 min]− [5 min]P1 takes P2 out of net to urinate.
    01:52++P1 and P2 get back into net.
    06:05− [5 min]P1 gets out of net, goes outside, opens door to chicken coop to let chickens out.
    06:10+P1 gets back into net.
    06:22P2 wakes up, looks at P1, sees she is still asleep, stays inside net sitting up.
    06:30−−P1 and P2 both get out of net.
    Total minutes outside net from first entry (after 18:30)195 (225)30 (60)
    Total number of times net lifted20

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Observe Before You Leap: Why Observation Provides Critical Insights for Formative Research and Intervention Design That You'll Never Get From Focus Groups, Interviews, or KAP Surveys
Steven A. Harvey
Global Health: Science and Practice Jun 2018, 6 (2) 299-316; DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00328
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