Population Council Research that makes a difference

Population Council IT Director Stan Mierzwa Recognized for Development of Interviewing Software

NEW YORK, NY (17 August 2010) — Stan Mierzwa, director of Information Technology at the Population Council, has been awarded InsideNGO’s first-ever Information Technology (IT) Award for his outstanding contribution to the development of audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) software.

"We're very pleased to recognize Stan with the first IT award from our organization and the first of its kind that we know of in the international NGO sector." says Alison Smith, executive director of InsideNGO. "This award is a way for the nonprofit community as a whole to better recognize the significant contributions and innovation coming out of the IT NGO community. Stan's work with ACASI is a great example of the leadership, creativity, and contribution to mission that forward-thinking IT brings to the table, and we're pleased to highlight Stan and his achievements at the Population Council."

ACASI is an innovative technology that enables study participants to hear and respond to interview questions via computer instead of through a face-to-face interview. Responses are recorded and stored immediately into a database with complete anonymity. The software can be effectively used with populations who are illiterate or who do not have numerical fluency.

Mierzwa has been instrumental in making this valuable technology available by creating and customizing the Council's ACASI software to meet the needs of individual studies and trials. He led the team that built the software platform upon which ACASI is based, developed and executed a training curriculum for in-country staff to administer surveys, and created auditable processes and protocols that demonstrate ACASI's effectiveness at capturing responses accurately and securely.

ACASI has been programmed for use in studies in 2009–2010 in India, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Previous studies, demonstrating that ACASI can improve the accuracy of reporting, have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Demography, American Journal of Epidemiology, and Studies in Family Planning.

Mierzwa's nomination was endorsed by Pamina Gorbach, associate professor at UCLA in the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and a member of the Behavioral Research Working Group of the Microbicide Trials Network, which makes extensive use of ACASI in its clinical trials. "Stan tailored an approach to the cultural and socioeconomic situation of women in African communities, enabling them to acquire the same privacy during study participation as other women with higher education," Gorbach writes. "Stan also patiently and coherently made the case for the importance of using ACASI in clinical trials to the Division of AIDS Research at the NIH. He has made a significant contribution to how international HIV prevention trials are implemented and has been a true pleasure to work with."

Population Council senior associate Barbara Mensch, whose research in Africa and Asia makes extensive use of ACASI, says, "Stan's willingness to customize the ACASI software to meet the needs of individual research teams has been instrumental in the widespread use of computerized interviewing in both surveys and clinical trials."

In accepting the award, Mierzwa shared credit for the award with Jim Sailer, Samir Souidi, his IT colleagues at the Population Council, and researchers Paul Hewett, Barbara Mensch, and Pamina Gorbach, all of whom have contributed greatly to the success and growth of ACASI.

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The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, we work with our partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.

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