Manderson, L.

This paper reviews the development of various methods designed to quickly and accurately generate relevant social information pertaining to health and disease control. It examines the use of knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) surveys, community diagnosis, RRA, rapid epidemiological assessments (REA), and rapid assessment procedures (RAP) using anthropological methods. It is cautioned that KAP surveys may be inadequate to document behaviours or to explain social opinions, and that data require validation through triangulation.

This manual is intended for social science and medical researchers who require information quickly on a particular topic of study, to learn about social and cultural issues relating to disease control prevention and treatment. Listed applications include exploratory studies, testing ideas about new programmes, solving specific programme problems, evaluating programmes, and solving staff/management problems. Focus group discussions (FGD) can be "an effective way to get this information and to reveal the range of opinion in a community".