In a landmark move, the Department of Health on Monday took advantage of an innovative technology to understand more about how Filipinos keep themselves healthy through a mobile phone survey.
According to the World Health Organization-Western Pacific Regional Office, a significant proportion of Filipino adults continue to be exposed to non-communicable diseases risks of tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity; making millions of Filipinos vulnerable to developing NCDs in the future. In the Philippines, NCDs are the top killers.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that as the DOH launched the NCD Mobile Phone Survey project, it also appeals to the public who may receive a text or a link to a website for the NCD Survey to take the time to seriously participate in this survey and give their best and honest replies.
The survey presents a number of features. It includes questions on topics such as a person’s tobacco and alcohol use, diet, blood pressure, diabetes, and demographics. The survey is made available in both languages, Filipino and English.
Answering the survey is easy: 1) via SMS or text, which is free for all mobile phone subscribers; or 2) via mobile web, where a link to the website will be sent to subscribers but free only for Smart and Sun subscribers (for Globe subscribers we recommend connecting to wifi to complete the survey to avoid data charges).
The DOH complied with the “Data Privacy Act of 2012,” which aims to protect the fundamental human rights of privacy of communication. The personal information of the respondents/mobile subscribers will not be disclosed to third parties and non-identifying information will be secured.
Further, responses will be voluntary, anonymous and confidential. Consent will be asked from all participants and personal information is removed before data is stored for analysis.
“It is very important to participate in this DOH-sponsored mobile phone survey as the results of the survey will help the Department of Health measure and come up with its strategies, and develop policies to address the problems,” Duque said.