Qatar's National Mental Health Survey—The World Mental Health Qatar: Sampling design, instrument adaptation, quality control, and fielding procedures

Abstract

Objectives: The World Mental Health Qatar (WMHQ) study, the first national general population mental health survey in Qatar, was conducted as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. It was one of the few WMH survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the methodological advances and challenges encountered while conducting the survey by telephone during the pandemic. Methods: Disproportionate stratified sampling using a national-level cellular telephone frame selected a representative sample of Arabic-speaking adults. Participants were initially contacted via Short Message Service text, followed by telephone interviews. WMH training materials supported a comprehensive training program, and data quality was ensured through a quality control indicator system and extensive monitoring. Results: Over 234 days, 5195 interviews in Arabic were completed, averaging 77 min each. In line with Qatar's population, the majority of participants were non-Qatari residents living in Qatar (72.2%). Conclusions: A distributed remote Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing system facilitated centralized quality monitoring and data security. However, the pandemic intensified challenges such as remote management of interviewer productivity, low response rates, and rising survey costs. The findings will inform Qatar's mental health policymakers, and the strategies used to address these challenges offer valuable insights for researchers worldwide.