For Elisabeth, it’s not just a job – it’s a privilege
June 16, 2025|Written by Christine Hyldal
Written by Christine Hyldal
Elisabeth Fleischer Henriksen is a telephone interviewer for the new population survey. She finds that people tell her things about their lives that they haven’t even shared with their own partner.
Elisabeth Fleischer Henriksen looks a little tired. She has a lively one-and-a-half-year-old daughter who likes to stay awake at night. She has also just had a supervision session for her master’s thesis, and now she is sitting in her shared office at the Centre for Public Health in Greenland, located in Ilinniarfissuaq’s beautiful, historic buildings in downtown Nuuk. She spends many hours here, as she is a student assistant at the centre and a telephone interviewer for the population survey that is currently being conducted.
It’s a great honour to be part of this project,” she says.
“The participants contribute to research by talking about their own lives, and I’m so grateful that they do. I get so many life stories told, even though the questions I ask are really just yes/no questions. But people are so open and so honest and willing to share more than we ask. It’s very enriching.”
How it works
An interview is conducted in such a way that Elisabeth arrives at the office, where she finds headphones and an iPad with a long questionnaire ready. The interview has been pre-arranged with the participant, who is sitting by the phone at home.
“I like to spend half an hour getting ready and mentally preparing myself. I never know who I’m going to talk to. People live in different circumstances and some have more to say than others,” she says.
“When I call, I tell them that there are a lot of different topics we need to talk about, some of them can be a bit tough. Just to prepare them a little bit. And then we get started.”
Up to 229 questions in the form
And a lot of different topics there really are. Questions range from the number of cigarettes smoked per day, to suicidal thoughts, exercise, diet and sexual abuse. There are up to 229 questions in the questionnaire, covering a wide range of topics. The participant answers yes/no and the more yeses, the more in-depth questions Elisabeth has to ask.
“On average, it takes about an hour and a half per interview, and if it’s a very talkative person, it takes two hours,” she says.
From the questionnaire.
The questionnaire offers several options for describing how much people eat.
“I’ve never even told my partner”
Some people really want to talk. Even if their answer options on the iPad are yes/no and number. But Elisabeth still leaves room for them to tell her whatever comes to mind:
“I once experienced someone who ended the interview by saying: What I’ve told you, I’ve never even told my partner. I was happy because the person had felt safe. I’m the professional and I have to give space for their reaction.”
About Elisabeth Fleischer Henriksen:
31 years old and from Ilulissat
Holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Science from Aarhus University
Studying a master’s degree in cultural and social history at Ilisimatusarfik.
She lives in Nuuk with her partner and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Panu.
Private photo.
Not dangerous to ask about suicide
However, she was a little nervous herself before doing her first interview for the population survey in December. Some questions are more taboo than others, but it’s very important to Elisabeth that the participants don’t feel that way. And she doesn’t think it should be taboo at all to talk about suicide, for example:
“Of course, it’s a big change of topic to ask about suicide. It’s important for me not to change my tone of voice. My tone must remain exactly the same as when I ask, for example, ‘How often do you eat beef?’” says Elisabeth Fleischer Henriksen and elaborates:
“All questions in the survey should have equal weight and none of them should be more dangerous than others. It shouldn’t feel like it’s a dangerous situation.”
All interviewees receive a thank you text message afterwards. It also contains phone numbers to call if you need to – for example, Tusaannga’s number.
Elisabeth can easily see a future where she works with research in Greenland.
“I would like to continue here when I graduate and contribute even more. I would like much more of the research done in Greenland to be done by us,” she says.
What is the population survey?
8,000 randomly selected people have been invited to participate in the survey.
They are asked about everything from smoking, dietary habits, exercise, gender identity, mental health – just to name a few topics. In this way, it is possible to take stock of how the population is doing on an ongoing basis.
The dataset will be used by both municipalities and the government to help prioritize health and prevention.
The survey is the sixth of its kind. Previous population surveys have been conducted in 1993-1994, 1999-2001, 2005-2010, 2014 and 2018.