Survey report · August 2020
Maiduguri Social Contact Survey Results.
Evidence on daily contacts and mobility across host and camp communities to inform infectious-disease response in Maiduguri and Borno State.
Overview
Local evidence for infectious-disease planning.
The survey examined who people came into contact with and which places they visited during a typical day in four conflict-affected Maiduguri communities. It was designed to help guide the COVID-19 response and provide a proof of concept for larger, representative social contact studies.
Contact and mobility patterns are important inputs for understanding how infectious diseases may move through households and community networks.
Key findings
Frequent, close and long-duration contact shaped daily interaction.
Contacts remained high
Participants reported a weighted average of 10.33 social contacts per day, shortly after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Homes were central
Half of all reported contacts occurred at the participant's home, most often with immediate or extended household members.
Interaction was close
Seventy-seven percent of contacts involved both conversation and physical contact, and most lasted longer than four hours.
Public exposure mattered
People who attended large gatherings such as markets, worship, community events or hospitals reported more contacts.
Contact patterns
Headline results from the survey.
Daily contacts
10.33weighted average number of social contacts reported per participant.Locations
2.7average number of different location types visited during the day.Large groups
84%of participants reported being in a large-group setting.Women
305female participants, representing 50.5% of the sample.Age
28median participant age, with respondents ranging from 6 to 90 years.Range
0–40minimum and maximum number of contacts reported.Results describe the four surveyed sites and should be interpreted alongside the study design and pilot scope.
Methodology
Structured interviews across host and camp communities.
Researchers visited Abuja, Bakassi, Buzzu and Sullumti between 18 and 23 May 2020. The sample was balanced across the four sites, age categories, gender and day of the week.
Households were selected through random GPS-point sampling. Participants answered questions on demographics and household hygiene, then reported contacts and places visited during the previous 24 hours.
- 604 participants across two host-community and two camp-community sites
- Contacts included physical contact, qualifying conversation and direct proximity
- Contact characteristics included location, duration and relationship to the participant