The Population Assessment Tool (PAT)

"Revealing the unseen: The Population Assessment Tool (PAT) uncovers the realities for targeted intervention where data in not available or not reliable.

Objective

The Population Assessment Tool (PAT) is a cross-sectional study designed to gather reliable data on situations and populations targeted by a specific project, including those hard to reach due to access barriers or residing in risk areas. It supplements existing project information by providing a comprehensive overview of the difficulties and dynamics experienced by the entire target population, addressing perceived challenges, access issues, priorities, and other specific dimensions of interest.

Ethics

The PAT in its generic and specific versions has been approved by the ethics committees of MSF International and many countries (France, Mexico, Kenya, Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela...)

Some past applications of the PAT

2012: Comayagüela (Honduras), number o people interviewed (n =940)
2015 : Tumaco, Colombia ( n=541)
2015: Mexico Migration dynamics (n=647)
2017: Easltands, Kenya (n=1166)
2018: Petare and la Vega, Venezuela (n=761)
2018: Mexico Migration dynamics (n=467)
2021: Paris, France (n=433)
2024: Darian migration crisis, Panama (n=507).

Methodology

The Population Assessment Tool (PAT) consists of a modular questionnaire designed to be administered face-to-face to individuals aged 14 and above. In addition, the PAT incorporates detailed in-depth interviews to gather nuanced insights.

Timeframe

Terms of Reference + Desktop Research + Key people interviews + Ethical approval + local approval: 1.5 months
Presential data collection: 2-3 weeks
Analytical and operational report, follow-up of cases: 2 months
Total: 4 months