Conducting In-Depth Interviews via Mobile Phone with Persons with Common Mental Disorders and Multimorbidity: The Challenges and Advantages as Experienced by Participants and Researchers

Azadé Azad, Elisabet Sernbo, Veronica Svärd, Lisa Holmlund and Elisabeth Björk Brämberg
Additional contact information
Azadé Azad: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Elisabet Sernbo: Department of Social Work, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
Veronica Svärd: Department of Social Work, Södertörn University, SE-141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
Lisa Holmlund: Unit of Intervention and Implementation Research for Worker Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Elisabeth Björk Brämberg: Unit of Intervention and Implementation Research for Worker Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: Qualitative interviews are generally conducted in person. As the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) prevents in-person interviews, methodological studies which investigate the use of the telephone for persons with different illness experiences are needed. The aim was to explore experiences of the use of telephone during semi-structured research interviews, from the perspective of participants and researchers. Data were collected from mobile phone interviews with 32 individuals who had common mental disorders or multimorbidity which were analyzed thematically, as well as field notes reflecting researchers’ experiences. The findings reveal several advantages of conducting interviews using mobile phones: flexibility, balanced anonymity and power relations, as well as a positive effect on self-disclosure and emotional display (leading to less emotional work and social responsibility). Challenges included the loss of human encounter, intense listening, and worries about technology, as well as sounds or disturbances in the environment. However, the positive aspects of not seeing each other were regarded as more important. In addition, we present some strategies before, during, and after conducting telephone interviews. Telephone interviews can be a valuable first option for data collection, allowing more individuals to be given a fair opportunity to share their experiences.

Keywords: data collection; telephone interview; semi-structured interview; COVID-19 pandemic; common mental disorders; multimorbidity; emotion work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11828/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11828/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:11828-:d:676919

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().