The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Wednesday said in a statement that 60 000 South Africans would be approached to participate in the country’s fifth HIV and Health study.

The 2017 HIV and Health Study is the fifth wave of a series of cross-sectional surveys undertaken by the HSRC every few years. Previous studies were done in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2012.

Deputy CEO for Research at the HSRC and overall Principal Investigator of the study, Professor Leickness Simbayi, said their field workers would only be visiting selected households across South Africa.

“The HSRC has put together 72 teams of trained field workers, dressed in HSRC bibs and carrying HSRC-issued identification cards, who will be interviewing a total of 60 000 individuals of all ages from randomly pre-selected households in towns, cities and villages across the entire country. Participation in the survey is voluntary and it is important for as many people who are approached to take part in order for the results to be representative of the whole country,” Simbayi said.

HSRC said that their early assessments had indicated that the survey which commenced in two of the provinces in December 2016 and last month was going well and support from the public was gaining momentum.

“A month into the study, more than 1 000 households have agreed to participate, which is very encouraging,” said Simbayi. “However, these are early days; by the end of the study an estimated 22 000 households are expected to have taken part in the study. Field-workers have noted challenges on gaining access to some households in certain neighbourhoods particularly the suburban areas.

“To truly inform our health policies and make decisions that will benefit our entire country, the survey must include a scientifically selected sample that is representative of the whole country, rich or poor and of all educational levels.”

The survey aims to determine the HIV status of participants, estimate the number of individuals who were recently affected (if applicable), determine if the participant is taking antiretroviral medicine (where applicable) and assessing the level of resistance to ARVs by those already on the treatment programme.

“This year, field workers are using electronic data collection devices to enable more efficient collection,” said Professor Simbayi: “In addition to 40 000 participants in the nationally-representative sample for determining national statistics, we have expanded the survey sample by 20 000 more participants in order to further improve the accuracy of the study in some selected districts and we are also providing HIV counselling and testing services. We are partnering with both local and PEPFAR-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide this service across the country.”

HSRC said the study would also identify the prevalence of behavioural and social factors that put South Africans at risk of contracting the virus. These included alcohol and substance abuse, circumcision status and high-risk sexual behaviour.

The council also said that one of the objectives of the survey was to track access to different types of HIV and health education and/or communication interventions and to evaluate several national HIV communication programmes.

“With another seven months to go in the study, I would like to appeal to all the pre-selected households to offer their full co-operation to our field workers, ensuring that they respond honestly on their health behaviours to inform the study findings. The results will have significant implications for the country’s future health policy and in determining the appropriate response mechanisms to address our current health challenges,” said Simbayi.

The survey consists of respondents answering a questionnaire and providing a small blood sample through a finger prick and heel prick for infants. All information and results are kept confidential.