Bermuda’s Chief Medical Officer has urged the public to take part in a crucial survey to map out the Government’s health strategy.

Shaun Ramroop said the latest Steps to a Well Bermuda survey had fallen significantly behind in participants, causing logistical problems.

He added: “It’s one thing to speak about things empirically but it’s another thing to have data and to have evidence.”

He said it would “give us an idea of where we need to go”.

“Being part of this survey, you’re going to be part of the process that can help to improve health and wellbeing in Bermuda going forward — and that’s important.”

Steps to a Well Bermuda is designed to assess the population’s health and wellness.

It is held in partnership with the Pan American Health Organisation, helping countries to collect a health census of their populations.

The survey is held across 2,500 randomly selected households, of which one person aged 18 or older will be selected.

Participants receive a free health screening, recording physical measurements with assessments such as blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Dr Ramroop said its aim was to judge the effectiveness of policies and determine what health problems the average Bermudian faced.

He said the new study would show how the population had changed over the last decade.

“Data is the most important thing,” he explained. “If you think about it as creating a dish, data’s the main ingredient.”

Dr Ramroop said that the last Steps programme was about ten years ago.

He added that the programme, while helpful, was not mandatory — but a drop in participation had caused problems.

Steps Bermuda needs at least 1,600 participants to be effective — and so far only has about 300.

Dr Ramroop said that many people likely felt the survey was too personal — but reminded the public that it was confidential, with all nurses conducting the survey under an oath of discretion.

He also emphasised there were things the Ministry of Health could not predict.

He said: “This is the first time we’ve had a pandemic of this proportion in 100 years, so it gives us an idea of what the population looks like.”

Dr Ramroop said that the value of the survey had been proven elsewhere. Cayman completed it last year and found “really useful information” to shape health strategy.

He said that this data could help Bermuda manage its high rate of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension.

Dy-Juan DeRoza, the co-ordinator of Steps and epidemiologist with the Ministry of Health, said: “We often get asked ‘what are our diabetes rates compared with other countries in the region, or the US or the rest of the world?’

“If we don’t get this data, then we can’t answers those questions.”

She acknowledged that the survey might seem invasive but assured the public that the questions could be viewed on the government’s website.

Ms DeRoza admitted that the process could also seem time-consuming.

Step one usually takes participants 30 to 45 minutes based on their answers, while step two is roughly 15 minutes and step three is ten minutes.

She said the steps did not need to be done immediately but could be completed at the participant’s convenience.

Ms DeRoza echoed Dr Ramroop’s position on the survey’s value for showing how well legislative changes had worked — such as the wiping of import duties on fruits and vegetables, done after the previous survey showed low levels of fresh produce consumption.

She said it would also shed light on the effectiveness of health promotions, such as Celebrating Wellness, and the efforts of health charities.

• To learn more about the Steps Survey, visit thegovernment website