“Fighting against malaria is everyone’s concern”: A randomized control trial assessing the role of incentives for encouraging local communities to record and upload mosquito sounds using the MozzWear application.

Abstract

Abstract Background Current malaria surveillance methods are considered too expensive to scale within limited-resource settings; hence, new technologies and approaches are necessary to maximize the collection of data and ultimately design new malaria control tools. Effective mosquito surveillance can be enhanced through the utilization of digital technologies and the engagement of citizens in real-time data collection. This study used the HumBug acoustic sensor with the MozzWear app to detect and identify host-seeking mosquitoes based on their flight sounds, with citizens receiving airtime incentives for recording and uploading sounds. Methods A randomized controlled trial was used to assess the role of incentives to encourage the local community to record and upload mosquito sounds using the MozzWear application. Participants were randomized into two groups: 1) a control group, in which no incentive was provided; and 2) incentive group, in which airtime credit was provided to participants. Both groups were provided with HumBug smartphones running the MozzWear app plus adapted mosquito bed nets (‘HumBug Nets’) to hold the phones during recording and were asked to record and upload mosquito flight tone data once per week for a period of four months. The intervention group was rewarded with an airtime incentive every week after the data were uploaded. At the end of the study, an experience survey was administered to participants in both groups to assess their experience participating in this study. Results The overall results indicate that the control group performed well in terms of the number of nights spent recording and uploading data compared to the incentive group. The level of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation differs between demographic variables. Their feedback suggested that fighting against malaria was more important and was everyone’s concern in rural Tanzania. In addition, the participants expressed their interest in being involved in future research related to mosquito surveillance and the fight against malaria. Conclusion Citizens can play a valuable role in scientific research; even without giving them incentives, they can still participate in the study. By participating in mosquito surveillance and malaria prevention studies, community members can make significant contributions to addressing mosquito-borne diseases and improving health outcomes.