Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 26: The month-long training program for field investigators, aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, concluded today.
A media interaction was held to mark the occasion, attended by Prof. (Dr.) S.K Singh, Senior Principal Investigator for NFHS-6 and Head of the Department of Survey Research & Data Analytics. Prof. Singh announced that the survey would commence shortly after Eid, with investigators visiting selected households to collect data.
“The survey encompasses approximately 412 indicators, including health, education, and various other areas. The data collected plays a crucial role in informing targeted welfare schemes implemented by the government,” explained Prof. Singh.
During the interaction, Prof. Singh highlighted the significant improvement in key parameters in Jammu and Kashmir, comparing the data from NFHS-5 to NFHS-6, noting that the progress made in these areas has brought the region’s indicators on par with those of European countries.
Providing further insights into the survey and training process, Imtiyaz Shiekh, CEO of Comtech IT Education Trust, the empanelled organization of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, and the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, responsible for training the workforce and conducting data collection, shared detailed information.
“In Phase-I, we have already mapped 1056 selected PSUs (Primary Sampling Units) and captured data for each residential and non-residential structure,” said Sheikh.
He further explained that, through randomization of these PSUs, 20 or 22 households were selected from each one. In Phase II, the selected households will be visited for interviews and data collection. A total of 154 investigators, recruited from various districts of Jammu and Kashmir, will be working in the field.
Shiekh also emphasized the involvement of female field investigators, accounting for approximately 60% of the workforce. These investigators will play a vital role in collecting data related to demographics and health from households over the next few months.
The importance of NFHS-5 was also highlighted during the media interaction. Shiekh emphasized its potential to enhance healthcare facilities by addressing specific needs based on accurate data collected through the survey.
Explaining the survey process, Shiekh stated, “The survey is conducted in two phases. In phase one, we map various villages and select 20 households from each village. Subsequently, trained teams visit these selected households during the month-long training period, adhering to the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Their objective is to conduct the survey and gather accurate data.”
The training began on May 29 here and the inaugural session was attended by the Secretary H&ME, Bhupinder Kumar and Director, Health Services Kashmir, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather.
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