National Health Survey to get underway in January

Manama : The Ministry of Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Informatics and eGovernment Authority (iGA) to implement the National Health Survey Project in January 2018.

The survey comprises of a random sample of 4,000 Bahraini and non-Bahraini households throughout the Kingdom. About 40 researchers and field supervisors by the Health Ministry will be involved for a period of five months from date of launching the survey. 

The survey is carried out with the framework of providing reliable, realistic health data that is comparable internationally. This also highlights the priority health issues and utilized as an integrated part with the health information systems.

The survey aims at studying the health status of the society, determining its characteristics and to review whether the current health system is achieving the desired objectives. The survey will provide a health database that will be of use to decision-makers while developing sound health policies and programs that would benefit the public.  The survey comprises of two questionnaires, the first is related to the entire household and the second to one adult individual participating from each household. Both questionnaires comprise questions associated with the household, individuals living there as well as health expenditures accompanied by questions of the individual’s health condition, risk factors and chronic diseases in addition to the mother’s and child’s health. Certain physical measurements and medical tests such as height and weight, blood pressure, vision examination, breathing capacity, blood glucose level together with blood lipid level of triglyceride and cholesterol are included. 

The National Health Survey is an internationally adopted survey by the World Health Organization and has been conducted in more than 70 countries worldwide.  Such strategic project comes in line with Government Action Plan as it contributes in enhancing the health information system, determining health priorities and in providing comprehensive information on the population’s health status. Further, it contributes in setting future strategies related to health expenses and insurance, human resources of the health sector, in addition to program management, monitoring and evaluation. 

The survey would contribute in setting up a database on the population’s health on a wide range of health indicators that are not fully available through administrative records as assessment to the public’s health state evaluation, risk factors, spread of diseases, reproductive health care along with health system responsiveness related to inpatient and outpatient care on an internationally basis as per standard set by WHO.