WhatsApp as a medium to collect qualitative data among adolescents: lessons learned and considerations for future use

In the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), candid youth perspectives are necessary for understanding the nuances surrounding contraceptive access and use. Methods of data collection leveraging technological solutions may provide avenues for increased privacy for adolescents. With the use of WhatsApp and other smartphone-based messaging applications as platforms for qualitative methodologies, public health researchers may find increased access to adolescents through utilizing mediums that adolescents already engage with in their daily lives. This article describes the use of WhatsApp as a data collection methodology with adolescents in Malawi. In June 2018, VillageReach used WhatsApp to conduct focus group discussions (FGD) to collect qualitative data on contraceptive use from Malawian youth. WhatsApp FGD participants were male and female adolescents, aged 15-19 representing rural and urban populations across three geographic regions of Malawi (northern, central and southern). Youth researchers (YR), aged 22-25, were trained and facilitated fifteen WhatsApp FGDs, as in-person (12) and remote (3) sessions. WhatsApp FGDs consisted of a YR sharing fictitious but contextually realistic ASRH scenarios, and managing the virtual discussion with questions and probing. Youth indicated comfort using WhatsApp to express their opinions and experiences related to contraceptive use and preferences. Based on the data collected, the researchers felt that use of the technology may increase willingness to provide additional levels of information during anonymized WhatsApp FGDs vis à vis traditional, in-person FGDs. Using WhatsApp as a methodological tool to facilitate FGDs has practical implications for data collection, data quality and data analysis. This paper reports lessons learned as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp to conduct FGDs in a low-resource setting. It also calls for developing guidelines and an ethical code of conduct for the future use of mobile applications for conducting qualitative research with vulnerable populations.