RIYADH: Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR) launched Tuesday a one-month pilot study in Riyadh, in preparation for carrying out an ambitious and comprehensive Saudi National Health and Stress Survey. The Saudi National Health and Stress Survey is a community-based health evaluation program, which will serve as a country-wide representative sample of Saudis living in urban and rural areas. A team of 30 doctors from the Ministry of Health (MoH), who participated in the PSCDR training program in Riyadh, has been mobilized to conduct the pilot study. Ahmad Al-Louzy, a PSCDR media department official, said three trainers from the University of Michigan trained the MoH personnel during a six-day workshop that ended this week. The MoH team will conduct face-to-face interviews with 100 male and female respondents between the ages of 15 to 65, he said. “The sample for the pilot study will be a random selection of 100 respondents from Riyadh,” said Al-Louzy, adding that “the pilot study is a landmark endeavor which will help clinicians and health policy makers establish relevant preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitation services in the Kingdom.” PSCDR is spearheading the pilot study in collaboration with MoH, Ministry of Economy and Planning, King Saud University, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH/RC), and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). The international collaborators of the survey are the World Health Organization, Harvard University and University of Michigan. The collaboration of these institutions is an indication of the importance of the study for future Saudi generations and those of neighboring Gulf and Arab countries, said Al-Louzy. He said the main objective of the study is to estimate the percent of health disorders in different regions of the Kingdom, measure the magnitude of the problem as well as the methods of treatment and the obstacles preventing the delivery of medical care. “The national survey is aimed at attaining a thorough understanding of the nature of the Kingdom's health problems and the best solutions for overcoming them. The survey will help close the gap by means of close coordination and solid partnerships, greater collaboration between the institutions involved, and increased funding,” he said. The team of physicians mobilized for the survey is from primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Riyadh.
