Beyond survey design: Lessons from conducting the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys

The National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys (NAMHS) were the result of a six-year collaboration between five organisations from five countries. Nationally representative household surveys of adolescents aged 10-17 years and their primary caregiver were conducted in 2021 in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Despite challenges, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, NAMHS was able to produce high-quality data which are featured in this Supplement. The operationalisation of compromise and communication were key factors in navigating the complexity of conducting three parallel surveys while also incorporating the knowledge and expertise of the teams from all five organisations. Compromise was an ongoing feature of NAMHS, including in relation to the choice of measures as well as their administration. Effective communication was realised through a comprehensive system that was implemented from the inception of NAMHS, ensuring meaningful and effective communication between the five teams for the benefit of all three surveys. The approach to compromise and communication was a considerable factor in the ability of NAMHS to not only weather the COVID-19 pandemic but also improve the project during the subsequent delays to data collection.

While factors such as compromise and communication are generally central to successful research collaborations, they are rarely mentioned in survey methodology. Future collaborations undertaking complex cross-national research would greatly benefit from taking a proactive and planned approach to communication and compromise.