Dubai: Have you been approached by field workers requesting for your health details? Well, you could be among the thousands of UAE residents who have been chosen to take part in the National Survey for Health and Nutrition 2024-2025.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has encouraged all individuals targeted in the survey to engage cooperatively with the field teams, emphasising the importance of their participation in collecting essential health data to enhance health services.
Here is all you need to know about the ongoing survey.
What is this survey about?
It is a health study conducted every five years at the national level to gather and analyse UAE’s health and nutrition indicators.
What are the objectives of the health survey?
The objectives are to collect reliable field data on UAE’s health status, following a national statistical methodology that aligns with the highest global standards, refresh the population health database, and measure health performance indicators.
What are the objectives of the nutrition survey?
The objectives are to gather field data on UAE’s nutritional landscape, update the national food database, and support food-related health planning and policies in the UAE.
Who is conducting the survey?
MoHAP in cooperation with the Federal Centre for Competitiveness and Statistics and all health authorities and local statistics centres in the country.
What is the duration of the survey?
The duration of the field work for the survey is six to seven months, covering all seven emirates. The survey was launched in May and the field work began by the end of June.
What is the sample size?
The survey interviews will cover random samples from 20,000 households and 2,000 workers.
Is participation necessary?
Participation for individuals and families is optional. However, MoHAP said participation is a national duty for all citizen and resident families that have been chosen as a participating family to support the government and enhance the UAE’s role in the field of health.
Who all will take part?
UAE residents including citizens, expatriates. The family members included are the head of the household, a family member aged 18 years and above, married women and children under the age of five, and the elderly who have reached the age of 60.
How are the families selected?
The samples and participating families are randomly selected for all emirates by experts in the field.
How long will the survey take?
Data will be collected through specific, approved questionnaires. The duration for collecting identical data in the questionnaires is approximately one hour for each questionnaire as a maximum and the number of visits is one to three visits maximum.
What types of questions will be asked?
A number of questionnaires will be collected by trained field teams using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) platforms. Quality control measures will be strictly observed during the data collection phase, the ministry said.
Are the field workers trained and certified?
All field workers, including researchers, officials, and nurses, are accredited and approved by MoHAP, the Dubai Health Authority, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, and hold security permits that qualify them to conduct the survey. Also, all field workers, including researchers, officials and nurses, have been trained and tested by MOHAP.
How can they be identified?
They wear a uniform jacket bearing the logo of the National Survey for Health and Nutrition.
They introduce themselves, emphasising that they are part of the MoHAP team, and display their ID badge. Team members display the QR code placed on their ID badge.
The code can be scanned for more information about the survey and its objectives. Also, each team member carries a valid Emirates ID matching their ID badge.
Will the police be aware of the survey?
The police will be informed in advance to ensure the field work progresses smoothly. In some cases, police patrols may accompany field teams in some areas to increase safety, clarified the ministry.
In which languages is the survey done?
Arabic, English, Hindi, and Urdu
Will there be tests?
For the health survey, blood tests will be performed, such as:
Fasting blood glucose (FBG)
HbA1c cumulative blood sugar
Fat percentage in the blood
Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol
Haemoglobin levels
Blood pressure
Height, weight, and waist circumference
How about tests to check nutrition levels?
There will be blood tests to measure some nutrients such as vitamin D and vitamin A as well. A urine sample will also be taken to measure sodium.
Why is urine/blood sample collected?
These samples help correlate your health and nutritional data to better understand the overall health status of the population. You will be fully informed about what the sample includes and its purpose.
Is sample collection mandatory?
Participation in sample collection and physical measurements is optional.
Will the participants get the results?
The report on the test results will be sent within 48 hours via text message.
How about the privacy of the data?
All information of participating families and individuals will be treated confidentially and will be kept in the Ministry, MoHAP said.
All personal and identifying information will be removed from the data before results are analysed. Any bulletins or reports will not include identifying details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, or Emirates IDs.
Where can one have more details from?
More information about the survey can be sought through the MoHAP call centre
80011111
