Survey to check on health of young kids
A DEPARTMENT of Health survey is to examine the well-being of children ten and under.
The survey is the first to examine children of that age on the island ? previous polls, conducted in 1999 and 2001 respectively, focused on adults and middle and senior school students.
The 2006 Health Survey will also attempt to determine the health status of adults, with findings used to develop Government policies and services and also to monitor trends and outcomes.
The survey, which begins today, will run through mid-March and will seek the input of 1,650 adult heads of households.
Explained a Government spokesperson: "The survey will be conducted by telephone and will take ten to 20 minutes. The aim is to interview 1,650 adult heads of households about themselves and about the youngest child in the household, aged (ten and under). It is estimated that 15 per cent to 20 per cent of households have children (in this age range)."
The survey will be conducted by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Statistics. Data collection will be done by Research Innovations.
According to Minister of Health and Family Services Patrice Minors, similar surveys are regularly conducted in most developed countries and are considered vital tools to understanding and addressing the health needs of a community.
Among the findings of the 1999 survey on adults were that one in every four exercised at least four times a week but that one in every three did no physical activity at all. Also determined was that one in two adults on the island had a healthy body weight and that one person out of every three persons was obese.
Alcohol also factored significantly in the earlier survey with one in every three adults claiming to have not drunk any alcohol in the previous month. One in every two adults who admitted to drinking alcohol, however, were categorised as binge drinkers.
Mrs. Minors encouraged residents to participate in the 2006 survey, saying: "We need to know where we are today. Are we healthier or not? We are asking Bermuda to tell us."
