The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS are targeting approximately 4,000 adults in the 2019 STEPS health survey, which began in select Family Islands yesterday.

The survey confidentially collects information on health habits and the prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in The Bahamas for people aged 18-69.

The survey is expected to commence in the capital on January 21, and last through March as it is simultaneously carried out in Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma, Cat Island and Inagua.

Health Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday said the findings of the survey should be released “sometime in April” when “the fieldwork, data cleaning and analyses have been completed”.

He also explained the survey, which is voluntary, will be carried out over three steps at the homes of those who participate, noting the process is expected to take one hour to complete.

As a part of step one, participants will be required to answer a series of questions, while step two will focus on measurements such as weight, height, hip and waist circumference, blood pressure and heart rate readings.

For step three, Dr Sands said: “At another visit, the interviewer will collect a urine sample as well as take a finger prick blood sample which will be tested for blood, fats and sugar.”

The health minister noted a similar announcement was made in October 2018, but said that launch experienced challenges and thus was temporarily delayed.

When asked for specifics on the issue, Dr Sands told The Tribune: “We had a challenge with the supply of necessary testing items from our supplier. And that would have created a huge logistic challenge with completing the STEP survey in the method that we needed to.

“It was an issue that was beyond their control, but we agreed to delay it so that it could be done in the manner prescribed.”

Dr Pearl McMillan, acting Chief Medical Officer, added the people who will conduct the survey have already been identified and trained. She also said they have a method by which they will determine the exact homes to visit and requested that residents participate in the survey.

“We want a sample which is representative of The Bahamas. And so the islands selected and the persons selected on those islands are intended to give a representative cross samplings of Bahamians and Bahamian behaviour,” Dr Sands added.

In an effort to garner support for the exercise, Dr Sands on Monday highlighted projections made during the 2007 CARICOM meeting with heads of governments in Trinidad, where it was stated that by 2030, the rate of people dying from NCDs would increase by 300 per cent.

“The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2020, NCDs will be responsible for more than 60 per cent of deaths worldwide,” he added, noting in The Bahamas has already exceeded this figure, with 74 percent of local deaths resulting from an NCD in 2018.

“In simple terms, Bahamians have a 17 percent chance of dying prematurely from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or chronic respiratory illnesses; almost two percentage points higher than the rest of the region,” he said.

“We have all heard or read or been taught that NCDs are directly linked to our lifestyle choices,” Dr Sands continued. “This is a fact that cannot be altered, denied, ignored, rebuked or prayed away.”

“We believe this study will have significant value in charting our course in the health sector and as a nation. Its findings will, in part, map our collective progress related to the specific NCD risk factors.

“Of interest, it will also break new ground, generating novel baseline data on national salt intake and oral health practices; as well as determining our population’s specific risk for cardiovascular disease.

“Findings from this study will enhance our ability to report on several local and international indicators such as those in the NCDs global monitoring framework and for the sustainable development goals,” he said.