KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) is urging all 3,900 households selected for the 2026 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC) to participate, noting that their responses are critical to producing reliable data on the living conditions of Jamaicans.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, on September 14, Director of Field Services at STATIN, Philone Mantock, said the survey is designed to capture information across different income levels and socioeconomic groups, making the participation of every selected household important.

“So, it’s important that all 3,900 households participate because this is where we’ll get a clear and accurate picture of the status of Jamaicans across the island,” she said.

She explained that interviewers cannot replace a selected household with another if the household declines to participate, as this would affect the randomness of the sample. She pointed out that interviewers are instructed to collect information only from households identified in the sample.

Mantock said many households are receptive to participating, particularly in rural communities and those with older persons who are retired.

“So, the rural communities, they’re always willing to participate. They’re willing to talk or interviewers even end up leaving with produce,” she said.

However, Mantock noted that interviewers sometimes encounter difficulties accessing persons in gated communities, apartment complexes and townhouse developments.

“In recent times, we have a proliferation of apartment complexes, townhouses, and not just in Kingston and St Andrew, also in St James, St Ann, Trelawny, St Thomas, and those are the challenging areas,” she said.

She assured that interviewers are trained to be “persistent, polite and patient” when engaging respondents and will make arrangements to return if a household is unavailable.

“We’re also going to be providing callback cards to our interviewers. So, if nobody’s at home, they can leave their name and their number for the respondent to call back to set up an interview,” Mantock said.

She stressed that full participation is necessary to ensure the quality of the survey findings.

“And if we have less participation, the data is not accurate and it’s not reliable and it’s not showing the true picture of what is happening in Jamaica,” she said.

Mantock noted that the questionnaire is lengthy and may require more than one visit to complete.

“Respondents may say, ‘Come back tomorrow, I can’t finish now’, but the important thing is that they get the questionnaire completed in its entirety,” she said.

The JSLC is an annual household survey that provides important information on the social and economic well-being of Jamaicans. The survey is a joint exercise between the Statistical Institute of Jamaica and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

— JIS