Head of Non-Communicable Disease in the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kholoud Ateeq Al Motawaa
Doha, Qatar: The National STEPwise Survey 2023 for non-communicable diseases intends to cover a significant number of 8,500 households, and the initiative holds immense potential in shaping public health policies and interventions.
Since the start of the first phase of the survey on May 25, 2023, a total of 2,389 households have been visited, and 2,238 interviews have been conducted. Daily, an average of 172 participants are successfully completing the first phase of the survey, said the Head of Non-Communicable Disease in the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kholoud Ateeq Al Motawaa in an exclusive interview with The Peninsula.
She emphasised that the information gathered during the survey is vital and said, “The results of this survey will provide many benefits to the population, including, assisting with health services planning, determination of public health priorities, predicting future burden of chronic diseases and implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of population-wide interventions.”
The survey is a second cycle of STEPwise surveys to provide a database on chronic non-communicable diseases and their related risk factors in Qatar. The data will serve as evidence-based information for formulating action plans, within the National Health Strategy, for controlling these diseases and their risk factors.
“It is very crucial for the public to participate because population-level surveys like STEPwise are the most standard data collection tools and depicts a true picture of the population’s health needs. Moreover, an enormous number of resources are utilised for implementing such national-level surveys, and for making the best use of these resources, public participation is the key,” said Dr. Al Motawaa.
Non-communicable diseases contribute the greatest proportion of the total burden of disease in the world including Qatar. National STEPwise Survey 2023 for non-communicable diseases in 2012, showed that almost 17% of the Qatari population between the ages of 18-64 years had raised blood sugar and 33% had raised blood pressure.
“Many of these conditions can be prevented. As we know, effective action to prevent and control these diseases depends on timely access to accurate and reliable information about the prevalence of these diseases and their associated risk factors,” said Dr. Al Motawaa.
According to her, in 2012, only Qatari citizens with a sample size of 2,400 between the ages of 18-64 were included. In 2023, the sample size is more than 8,500 from both Qatari and non-Qatari populations between 15-69 years.
“The survey is also using advanced technology for data collection in tablets and many additional modules about smoking and mental health are also included,” said Dr. Al Motawaa. STEPs risk factor surveillance is a STEPwise process; STEP 1 starts with gathering information on key risk factors using a questionnaire on common risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases including tobacco use, fruit and vegetable use, physical activity, etc. STEP 2 includes simple physical measurements, such as height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure. STEP 1 and 2 of the survey will conclude by August 31. STEP 3, which includes tests for blood glucose and blood fats, by a small prick in the finger and urine samples to check urinary sodium and creatinine for estimation of average national salt consumption, will be done between September and November.
The data collection teams visit the selected households and select one participant between the ages of 15 to 69 years.
The survey teams are visiting households from Saturday to Thursday between 4 pm to 9 pm and select participant then completes the interview and physical measurements.
“The information collected during the survey is handled with the utmost confidentiality and used only for Statistics purposes. The survey teams have an official letter from Ministry of Public Health, and they have ID cards from Planning and Statistics Authority. Information about the survey is also available on the Ministry website and social media accounts. So, all selected households and participants are requested to cooperate fully with the field teams of the survey and adhere to the appointments made for the blood tests,” said Dr. Al Motawaa.
