National health and wellbeing Survey

Quantity or scope

Project description.Aim.To generate data that will highlight significant patterns and trends in Irish lifestyles in the context of the Public Health Policy Framework currently being developed by the Department. The policy framework will be Ireland’s vision for a healthier population that is protected from public health threats, living in a healthier and more sustainable environment, with increased social and economic productivity and greater social inclusion.Objectives.To collect a core set of data on the health status and other health related variables of a nationally representative sample of the general Irish population aged 15 years and over in private households. This sample should be sufficiently large and structured in such a way as to make comparisons between various sub-groupings of the population possible. Specific breakdowns required in analysis will include: gender, age-groups, socio-economic status, education status and urban and rural location. Data collected will be used to provide a national profile with subgroup and trend analyses mentioned above, and international comparisons.Key areas for data collection.The National Health and Lifestyle (SLÁN) Survey was up until now the main mechanism for the on-going collection and publication of data on population health. Data from a nationally representative sample of Irish adults was collected on:a) Population risk factor profilesb) Population behaviour profilesc) Attitudinal data in relation to health maintenanceThe core component of the proposed new National health and wellbeing Survey will be:— Approximately 30 background module questions and a household relationship matrix (included with Tender documentation),— 40 key questions from the health status, health care and health determinant modules of the European Health Interview Survey (Wave 2) which will enable international comparison (included with tender documentation),— Approximately 30 supplementary questions in the areas of tobacco, nutrition, alcohol and others, to be determined by the Department, which will support ongoing policy development,— All questions and response categories will be determined by the Department and supplied to tenderers.The average interview duration is expected to be 40-45 minutes in the home. This does not include time for introduction of the survey or completion of informed consent form.Data collected in the Survey should be able to provide:— Baseline levels of usage and intake of health behaviours such as smoking, alcohol use, accidents and physical activity,— Food consumption patterns,— Information on relevant social determinants of health including environmental and social factors,— Self-reported height and weight,— Information on lifestyle and health maintenance indicators in relation to the implementation of the pending Public Health Policy Framework (2012-2020),— comparisons with previous SLÁN surveys.Measurement Data.In addition to the main questionnaire, an in-depth study should take place on a sub-sample of the sample age 18 and over, which would have a focus on getting measurements of key anthropometric variables. These should measure health risk factors including:— Systemic blood pressure,— Height, weight, hip and waist circumference,— BMI will be a derived variable.Specifications.The proposal submitted should cover all aspects of the Survey as set out above. The proposal should also include the following:— A detailed project plan,— Outline of management of the Survey including the survey team and fieldwork,— Details of appropriate pre-testing and pilot study plans,— Details of proposed sampling frame, sample design, sampling method, strategies for sampling recruitment, and dealing with differential response rates, exclusions, weighting, imputation and so on (as per the recommendations of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) Wave 2 survey manual included with the Tender documentation),— Procedures for data processing (cleaning, coding, derived variables, imputation etc),— Outline plans for data analysis,— Reporting schedule and delivery of outputs,— Plans for managing data storage, retrieval and security including anonymisation and archiving arrangements,— Procedures for compliance with the data protection acts,— Procedures for ensuring compliance with ethical requirements including issues around statistical confidentiality and disclosure,— Proposed budget for the duration of the contract and description of financial controls in place.Consideration should be given in the proposal to the following issues:Scope and population.The target population shall be residents of the Irish State aged 15 years and over residing in private households.Sampling.The National Health and Wellbeing Survey will require a nationally representative probability sample of the Irish population aged 15 years and over. The sample should be of sufficient size to detect differences according to gender, age-group, socio-economic status, education status and urban and rural location in key variables e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, nutrition and physical activity.Only one eligible member per selected household is to be chosen at random to participate in the survey.The minimum effective sample size shall be 5 500. The actual number of completed interviews is likely to be larger than 5 500 if a sampling design more complex than simple random sampling is proposed and to compensate for all kinds of non-response. An estimate of the design effect (and number of completed interviews to be achieved), reflecting any stratification, clustering, sampling within a cluster etc. in the sample design should be in included in the tender proposal.Weighting factors shall be calculated to take into account the units' probability of selection, non-response and, as appropriate, to adjust the sample to external data relating to the distribution of persons in the target population.The in-depth measurement study should take place on a nationally representative effective sub-sample of not less than 1 200 of the sample aged 18 years and over.Recruitment.Recruitment of participants should address issues of seasonality and fieldwork operation. Issues around non-response and refusal should also be taken into account in this section:— A full description of the proposed recruitment processes including the number, nature and timing of call-backs,— Advantages, disadvantages and rationale for the proposed approach(es),— Identification of potential sources of bias and proposed procedures for minimising such bias,— Identification of measures to maximise co-operation and response rates e.g. refusal conversion,— Identification of measures to deal with access issues such as limited English, literacy or disability e.g. hearing or speech disability, intellectual disability,— Identification of measures to safeguard against differential non-response.Data requirements and capture.The population Survey will be conducted by face-to-face interview and the proposal should demonstrate the following:— Capacity to carry out Computer-assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) in Ireland,— Capacity to prepare CAPI interview programme immediately on award of contract.Tenderers should also demonstrate:— An ability to prepare, clean and validate large datasets and demonstrate familiarity with appropriate statistical software packages,— Sufficient intellectual capacity with adequate and suitably qualified staff to successfully undertake the project,— Have a track record in this field (large scale social CAPI based research projects),— Have high level of quality control and quality assurance to research standards, including stringent fieldwork management procedures (please enclose a description).Data processing and analysis.Tenderers should set out procedures for editing (for completeness, accuracy and uniformity), preparing derived items, developing and implementing processes for weighting, imputation, data coding, data documentation relating to this material, geo-coding and transformation of data into a useable format and proposed mechanisms for ensuring and controlling data quality.Tenderers should describe the main types of analysis proposed including a full description of the proposed procedures, advantages, disadvantages, challenges and rationale for each type.Data storage and retrieval.The data will remain the property of the Minister for Health. A copy of the non-anonymised data will be sent to the Department as soon as it is cleaned and validated, when requested.An Anonymised Microdata File (AMF) will be deposited in a public data archive twelve months after completion of fieldwork. Anonymisation criteria for the AMF will be agreed with the Department.Relevant archiving documentation, such as technical manuals, code books, data dictionaries, etc, to accompany the AMF should be prepared as general output of the study.Data protection, confidentiality and security.The proposal submitted should specify how compliance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 will be achieved at every stage of the Survey.The privacy of individuals, the confidentiality of the information they provide and its use only for statistical purposes must be absolutely guaranteed. A description of the procedures to be put in place at all stages of the survey process (collection, storage, processing, and dissemination) to ensure confidentiality should also be outlined in the tender.Reports.It is expected that the successful tenderer will provide the following reports to the Steering Committee:Report 1: Top-line analysis report which should include a basic description of each variable and how it varies according to gender, age-groups, socio-economic status, education status and urban and rural location as far as possible (statistical significance or reliability must be taken into account).Report 1 should also provide a full description of the methodology used in the fieldwork, data preparation and analysis, and pilot studies.Report 2: full analysis and discussion of all findings of importance to policy-makers and service providers. The content and format of this report will be agreed with the Steering Committee. This should include comparisons with other EU countries and with previous rounds of the National Health and Lifestyle (SLÁN) Survey where possible.Data Dissemination.The successful tenderer should work with the Department to create awareness of, and maintain interest in the National Health and Wellbeing Survey dataset over the lifetime of the contract.The successful tenderer will be required to deliver an oral debrief of findings to the Steering Committee and to policy members responsible for implementing any findings prior to final acceptance of the reports.Timescale.The successful tenderer will be expected to be in a position to commence data collection as soon as possible after the contract is agreed and signed.From commencement of Survey data collection the Department anticipates delivery of Report 1 within 4 months. The timescale for delivery of Report 2 and the oral debrief of findings will be agreed with the Steering Committee.Ethics.The Department and the Health Research Board are committed to the maintenance of high ethical standards in the research they fund and the National Health and Wellbeing Survey will require approval from an ethics committee. You should provide outline details of the ethics committee you are proposing to approach for approval and the timeline for achieving such approval. Written evidence of such ethical approval must be received by the Health Research Board as a condition of funding.