Description of the contract
Evidence from UK and international studies suggests that increasingly people are seeking and sharing health information and support online, through social networking sites, and using health apps to support their health. Yet, very little is known about how people engage with technology and the internet for health in Wales including new emerging technologies (eg wearables), for what health topics, how much personal information people openly share about their health, perceptions of the benefits and harms, and how the patterns may differ across social groups.
As Public Health Wales looks towards the next 10 years, we recognise the importance of understanding how the population in Wales is using the internet and technology to support health. Through this tender, Public Health Wales wishes to commission the first nationally representative household survey in Wales, specifically seeking to understand how people engage with the internet and technology with regards health and wellbeing, and sociodemographic differences in reported benefits and harms.
Public Health Wales wishes to commission the fieldwork element of the survey. This will involve data collection with a nationally representative sample of at least 1,000 Welsh residents aged 16 years and over. The data will be collected using a structured questionnaire ideally implemented at participants’ households via computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) although alternative methods (e.g. telephone survey) would be considered.
Scope:
The scope of the procurement is to deliver:
• The sampling framework for the survey, developed in consultation with Public Health Wales
• The CAPI format of the questionnaire
• Appropriately trained professional interviewing staff to implement the questionnaire across Wales in English and Welsh language, as preferred by participants.
• Project planning, management and quality assurance to ensure fieldwork is implemented appropriately, to set timescales and that the sampling framework is achieved.
• Regular updates on fieldwork progress including compliance rates (e.g. completed, refused, unoccupied households)
• Regular data extracts to Public Health Wales for quality assurance
• A clean final data file back to Public Health Wales in SPSS/STATA.
• A brief final technical report detailing the implementation process
Methodological detail:
• The target population for the survey is individuals aged 16+ years resident in Wales. The sample size should be at least 1000 residents. We would be interested in costs for each additional 250 individuals above the required 1,000 sample size up to sample size of 2000.
• The sample should be representative at a national (Welsh) level, with sampling stratified by Health Board Area, gender, age and deprivation. All quintiles of deprivation should be represented in each Health Board Area. Only one adult (16+yrs) per household should be surveyed.
• The preferred method of administration for the survey is face-to-face interviews, using CAPI.
• Delivery and management of responses to an introductory letter delivered to the households prior enabling households to opt-out.
• The structured questionnaire will be provided by Public Health Wales and will include closed (tick box) questions. We expect the questionnaire to take approximately 10 minutes to complete. A draft questionnaire has been provided for reference purposes (Appendix 1). This questionnaire may be subject to some changes but any revisions would not lead to a lengthening of the questionnaire. Questions cover:
o Access and frequency of use of technology (mobile phone, smartphone, tablets, computers, wearable technology) amongst the population in Wales
o Prevalence/Level of digital skills
o Reasons for using digital technology to support health
o Perceived harms and benefits of technology for health
o Personal health measures
o Basic demographics
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