Conducting a Population Survey in Times of Pandemic: Field Experiences from Ecuador

Abstract

The Contextualizing project Evidence for Action on Diabetes in low-resource Settings: a Mixed-methods case study in Quito and Esmeraldas, Ecuador, aims to analyze the social process by which global recommendations for the prevention of diabetes can translate into evidence-based actions tailored to low-resource settings. One of its first phases is establishing a baseline on risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases and the prevalence of diabetes in the territories in which it works, using the WHO STEPSwise approach to noncommunicable conditions risk factor surveillance. The conduct of this population survey was affected by the pandemic context in Ecuador. Between November and December 2020, a pilot was carried out to adapt the study and its procedures to the epidemiological situation in the city of Quito. The pilot allowed us to identify the main barriers and difficulties related to COVID-19 and propose solutions and improvements for the best performance of the project.