Introduction
The evaluation of the functioning of a community-based health program in Burundi might be a challenging task for a researcher due to the country’s developing status. Some of the challenges that one might encounter when collecting data at the site of the program implementation include intercultural conflict due to the particularities of the local language and communication attitudes.
Discussion
Moreover, the lack of properly developed infrastructure might obstruct the transportation and other operational efforts necessary to collect data across the villages (Alemayehu, Mitchell, & Nikles, 2018). Importantly, the exposure of the researcher to different threats in terms of diseases and jeopardized safety might impede the collection of data. To minimize the impact of the challenges on the quality of data collection, the researcher should use mixed methods that combine qualitative (observation and interviews) with quantitative (surveys) methods.
Another essential issue in a successful data collection process is building trusting relationships with stakeholders. To gain and maintain trust, the researcher should adhere to the community’s values, beliefs, and ethical norms (Moreno-Luzon, Chams-Anturi, & Escorcia-Caballero, 2018). Moreover, the demonstration of positive intentions and openness in communicative strategies will be helpful in engaging stakeholders for a more reliable process of collecting data. Achieving common ground in communication will help stakeholders and researchers cooperate effectively.
Conclusion
Finally, when discussing the most appropriate data collection methods for the community of Burundi rural residents, one might refer to the under-developed status of the country. Due to the limited resources, it might be relevant to use simple close-ended questionnaires, interviews, and surveys that would not require extensive digitalized analysis. Moreover, the adherence to a mixed-method design should be preferred to ensure that a diverse database is collected. Such an approach is validated by the scarcity of health-related data in developing countries. Therefore, collecting multifaceted information will provide a more generalizable and feasible understanding of the issues under investigation.
References
Alemayehu, C., Mitchell, G., & Nikles, J. (2018). Barriers to conducting clinical trials in developing countries-a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 17(1), 1-11.
Moreno-Luzon, M. D., Chams-Anturi, O., & Escorcia-Caballero, J. P. (2018). Organizational legitimacy and stakeholder trust in the organization: A feed-forward relationship. In Organizational Legitimacy (pp. 283-299). Springer, Cham.