Household health survey off to a slow start as citizens decline information

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More than 29,000 households have been covered so far in the door-to-door health survey which began in the city on August 16, a BBMP official said.

The survey, touted as India’s first, entails doctors, paramedics and volunteers going door to door in 54 wards to enquire about citizens’ health, their Covid-19 vaccination status and co-morbidities. But conducting the survey hasn’t been easy despite the wide publicity.

Many people are wary of sharing their phone numbers and details of their health parameters. Some question the need for the survey and wonder whether their data will not be leaked.

Randeep D, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP, said the surveyors were spending a lot of time trying to convince the families and allay their fears about data breach. He stressed that a confidential clause has been built into the survey mechanism.

Officials have appealed to the general public to cooperate with the surveyors, saying the exercise is for the greater good of the city.

The survey is being conducted in a paperless format. Surveyors have been given tablets to upload the respondents’ data to a custom-made app. But there is no ‘Refuse’ option if respondents decline information, another senior BBMP official said.

“If our team can’t convince a family, it still has to record the details offline. We will make another attempt to reach the family and get the details,” the officials said.

Against the daily target of covering 50 households, surveyors have been able to reach only 35-40 families.

“Some of the wards covered in the survey are densely populated, with each family having six members or more. Obtaining the relevant details of all family members is a time-consuming process,” Randeep said.

West Zone has the most surveyed households at 7,265 while only 1,140 families have been covered in RR Nagar, officials said.