Wednesday 02 October 2013
The Public Health Directorate, part of the Health and Social Services Department is launching the Sixth Guernsey and Alderney Health and Lifestyle Survey. From the 1 October, 2500 Bailiwick Households, which have been selected randomly, will each receive a confidential Health and Lifestyle questionnaire by post. They will also receive a letter from the Director of Public Health explaining why the survey is taking place and asking a member of the household to complete and return it by Thursday 31 October.
Health Promotion Manager, Yvonne Le Page explained, "This is the sixth time we have conducted the Survey - the first was held twenty five years ago in 1988. The aim of the Survey is to give us vital, up to date information on people's health and how much they understand about healthy lifestyles. There are questions on a variety of health topics including healthy eating, physical activity, alcohol and stress and also a section on the use of HSSD services. We ask that the householder who is over 16 and who has the next birthday in the house to answer the questionnaire. We hope that as many people as possible will complete and return the surveys so that the results are an accurate representation of the Bailiwick population"
Jenny Cataroche, Public Health Analyst / Epidemiologist for HSSD will conduct the analysis of the results. She explained "In preparation for this year's survey we have reviewed all aspects of the survey process including how the sample is selected, who is included, which items are contained in the questionnaire and how the results will be analysed. Residents in Alderney and the smaller islands will be included for the first time and returned questionnaires will be sent off-island for data entry before being analysed locally. We do not ask respondents for their names and individual responses will not be linked back to the household from which they came. We hope this anonymous format will encourage people to take part and have their say. Results will be compared to those from past local surveys and to other jurisdictions and a report will be available next year."
Dr Stephen Bridgman. Director of Public Health added "I would urge everyone who receives a questionnaire to complete and return it by 31st October. This snapshot of our Island's health is our main way of knowing how the health of our Bailiwick is changing and how well we are targeting our true health needs. We will then be able to plan our next priorities based on current and accurate local information."
For further details on the survey please contact Yvonne Le Page at the Health Promotion Unit, tel 707311.
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