6-8
Outside
experts may
need to start
with a survey
in order to find
out what is
going on in a
village. But this
does not mean
it is appropriate
to have local
health workers
start off this
way.
When does information gathering make sense?
Although starting off with a detailed community survey is often a mistake, there
are times when a health worker and the people in his community may want to gather
specific information. For example:
• People may want to see whether many children are underweight (poorly
nourished) and therefore more likely to get sick. (See p. 25-7.)
• They may want to find out if bottle-fed babies in their village get diarrhea more
often than breast-fed babies. (See p. 24-17.)
• They may want to see whether a particular health activity produces results. For
example, a village may plan a campaign to control malaria. The people can take
a survey before they begin, to find out how many persons have had fevers and
chills. Then—after everyone has taken part by draining ditches, sleeping under
mosquito nets, and getting early treatment—the villagers can take another
survey and compare the results.
Because surveys often show results that would not otherwise be noticed, they
can help to renew people’s enthusiasm for continuing an activity (or to stop or
change an activity that is not working). See Evaluation, Chapter 9, and On-the-spot
Surveys, p. 7-13.