NCD Surveillance Toolkit:
Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases

1. Personal Data (99 KB)
2. Employment Situation (144 KB)
3. Coverage and Access to Medical Care (144 KB)
4. General Health (93 KB)
5. Tobacco Use:
   Recommendations & Indicators (81 KB)
   Questionnaire (213 KB)
6. Hypertension:
   Recommendations & Indicators (125 KB)
   Questionnaire (146 KB)
7. Physical Activity:
   Recommendations & Indicators (79 KB)
   Questionnaire (141 KB)
8. Knowledge of Body Weight
   Recommendations & Indicators (81 KB)

Questionnaire (96 KB)
9. Nutrition:
   Recommendations & Indicators (77 KB)
   Questionnaire (145 KB)
10. Cholesterol:
    Recommendations & Indicators (81 KB)
    Questionnaire (140 KB)
11. Alcohol Consumption:
    Recommendations & Indicators (79 KB)
    Questionnaire (183 KB)
12. Diabetes Mellitus:
    Recommendations & Indicators (82 KB)
    Questionnaire (186 KB)
13. Women's Preventive Services:
    Recommendations & Indicators (81 KB)
    Questionnaire (141 KB)
14. Violence (281 KB)

Objective

Reliable data on risk factors is essential for priority-setting and planning preventive interventions. To collect this data, PAHO recommends surveys that use standardized definitions and previously validated questions. This ensures dependable data that allows for comparisons over time and among different populations.

PAHO, in collaboration with experts from throughout the Region, has reviewed literature and identified a list of core requirements for such surveys. These are presented in the left-hand column (in pdf format). For each risk factor, there is a module with recommendations for prevention, indicators to monitor progress in carrying out the recommendations, and/or a set of standardized questions recommended for use in surveys (with the core questions shaded).

Methodology

1. To select the variables, we took into consideration the opinion of 28 experts. See document PAHO/HCP/HCN/99.08 on Networking for the Surveillance of Risk Factors for NCDs in Latin America and the Caribbean.
2. We revised the CARMEN questionnaires designed for Chile, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, trying whenever possible to conserve the previous measurements. (For information on CARMEN, click here.)
3. We reviewed the other questionnaires, including the following: WHO Standard Risk Factor Questionnaire, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Proyecto Global de Cienfuegos, Binational Mexico-US Border Diabetes Survey, Encuesta domiciliaria sobre Factores de Riesgo y Detección Precoz de Cáncer from Brazil, International Physical Activity Questionnaire Young and Middle-aged Adults (IPAQ), and the PAHO SABE and ACTIVA projects. The idea was to utilize questions already validated that could serve as a reference at any given moment.
4. We consulted with the different regional advisors from the PAHO Program on Non-Communicable Diseases (HCP/HCN).
5. We defined the 14 modules to be included in the system.
6. We defined the 'core' questions and well as the 'optional' questions for each module.
7. We provided a justification that essentially attempts to measure each question in such a way as to facilitate future discussions until the final, definitive version of the questionnaire is developed.
8. We proposed a group of core indicators for each module that should function as focal information points for the surveillance system and for upcoming discussion topics.