25-7
TAKING A SURVEY TO FIND OUT ABOUT
NUTRITION NEEDS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Some food and nutrition problems tend to go unnoticed, even by those who live
in the village or neighborhood where they exist. A good way to find out about these
problems is to take a simple nutrition survey. As we discussed in Chapter 6, surveys
of people often reduce their sense of dignity and control over their lives. However,
surveys by the people in a community at times can help increase their understanding
and control of the factors affecting their health. The health worker can serve as the
survey coordinator or facilitator (someone who makes it easier).
A simple community survey to check for nutritional problems can perform at least 4
functions:
1. It can help people determine how many persons in their area are poorly
nourished. If more than 1 out of every 7 children (15%) is underweight or too
thin, then the community probably has a serious food problem.
2. It can help show which children and which families have the greatest need
and deserve special care and concern.
3. The health worker can use the survey to help interest, inform, and involve
various groups in the community—mothers, fathers, school children, and
community leaders.
4. The survey can provide a basis for comparison at a later date. People will be
able to see if the action they have taken to improve nutrition in their village has
been successful.
Different groups from the community can be involved in different aspects of a
survey. For example:
• School children might check to see
whether their younger sisters and
brothers are well nourished or too
thin.
• Midwives could help in reviewing
the nutrition of pregnant women.
• Mothers could find out how many
babies are breast fed or bottle fed,
and how this affects the babies’
health.
• Fathers might do a study on how
the drinking habits of men affect
the nutrition of different families.
By helping to conduct their own survey, the villagers become more aware of
the problems and the need for action to combat them.
However, if surveys are to be conducted by untrained people, they should be
simple, quick and interesting. On the following pages we explore a variety of survey
methods.