COVID-19 Survey Begins
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is encouraging members of the public to cooperate with interviewers who will make contact via the telephone, to gather data for the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey regarding COVID-19.
The data collection begins today (Monday, April 27) and will last for approximately two weeks.
Deputy Director General of STATIN, Leesha Delatie-Budair, told JIS News that the primary objective of the survey is to get a better understanding on what Jamaicans know about COVID-19.
She said that STATIN traditionally engages in surveys that require face-to-face interviews; however, due to the spread of COVID-19, the Institute is unable to undertake data collection in that way.
“We randomly selected numbers on both networks and we will be administering questionnaires to these persons. Now, what we ask for is cooperation,” said Ms. Delatie-Budair.
The survey covers a sample of approximately 17,000 telephone numbers spread across the 14 parishes and forms part of a broader National Research Agenda for COVID-19 that was established by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
For each telephone number, information will be collected from the primary user of the phone, who must be 10 years of age and older.
Ms. Delatie-Budair further explained that everyone has a role to play in the fight against COVID-19 and, as such. answering the phone, and subsequently the interview questions, will help to get a better understanding of the effectiveness of the communication that has been disseminated regarding COVID-19.
“Just to be clear, STATIN will not ask for any banking information. STATIN will not ask you for information that can be used for any malicious purposes,” she explained, adding that “whatever information we collect has to be used only for statistical purposes.”
Ms. Delatie-Budair said that the data collected “is simply to analyse what is happening in Jamaica and to provide our policymakers, in an aggregated way, information on what is happening”.
She is encouraging participants to provide accurate and truthful responses to the questions asked.
SOURCE: JIS
