PRESS RELEASE
The Statistical Institute of Belize, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, informs the public that we currently have teams of interviewers in the field conducting the country’s first ever Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Kidney Disease. This survey is part of a larger project aimed at diagnosing patients in the early stages of Chronic Kidney Disease, thereby preventing the worsening of the disease and decreasing the negative socio-economic impacts it has on the country.
Here’s what you can expect if your household is selected to be a part of the survey:
- A trained interviewer, carrying an SIB issued ID card and wearing a white t-shirt with the SIB logo, will administer a very short Household Questionnaire.
- The interviewer will administer an Individual Questionnaire to all household members aged 20 to 55.
- A trained nurse and phlebotomist, also wearing a marked t-shirt and carry an SIB ID card, will then conduct the screening of Individual Questionnaire respondents by:
- Gaining the individual’s written consent;
- Taking temperature, height, weight, waist, blood pressure and blood sugar measurements;
- Testing of urine for protein and glucose;
- Taking of a blood sample, which will be tested for signs of kidney disease.
This information will be used solely to determine how many persons are likely to suffer from kidney disease, or how many persons have it, so that the Ministry of Health can design policies, programs and interventions to combat this disease.
In accordance with the SIB Act of 2006, all data collected will be held in strict confidence, and the SIB will not publish or share any information that will allow for an individual or household to be identified. All samples taken will be destroyed immediately upon completion of the study.
The SIB thanks participating households in advance for your cooperation in this very important study and for your assistance in helping to combat Chronic Kidney Disease in Belize.
Selected participants are being urged to demand an ID from anyone who says they are working with the Statistical Institute of Belize or the Ministry of Health to collect information from you, and please contact the Statistical Institute of Belize at 822-2207, Extension 209, or by email at info@mail.sib.org.bz. You may also contact Mrs. Claudette Dakers Norales at the Ministry of Health at 822-2325 or email her at cnoralez@health.gov.bz.
