Don’t Waste Time – Download DHS Citations!

Written by: The DHS Program

19 Aug, 2015

If you’ve recently written an academic paper, you probably used reference management software, such as Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley, or RefWorks, to organize and import your references.  And if you’re a DHS data user, you probably have a handful of DHS analytical, comparative, or methodological reports that you regularly refer to. Now, you can download our […]


Reflections on the Journalist Workshop in Togo

Written by: Sarah Balian

05 Aug, 2015

Tuesday began with a torrential downpour; the roads in Lomé were nearly impassable. I was certain that I was going to be late for the journalist workshop. The taxi dropped me off at the wrong entrance, and I had to wait nearly 20 minutes to cross the open-air plaza to reach the correct conference room […]


Linking DHS Data with Health Facility Data: Opportunities and Challenges

Written by: The DHS Program

22 Jul, 2015

For 30 years, The DHS Program has asked women hundreds of questions about their utilization of various health care services, including family planning, antenatal and delivery care, vaccination and treatment of sick children, malaria treatment, and HIV prevention and treatment. In 1999, The DHS Program started collecting facility-level data through the Service Provision Assessment (SPA) […]


Beyond Data Analysis: Collaboration and Capacity Strengthening

Written by: The DHS Program

08 Jul, 2015

Have you ever been to a workshop that combined interactive PowerPoints, fun hands-on activities, malaria indicator trivia games, and lots and lots of data analysis? No? Well then, you haven’t taken part in a Regional DHS/MIS Malaria Analysis Workshop hosted by The DHS Program. The malaria analysis team recently hosted two such regional workshops, one […]


Spotlight on New Staff: Hamdy Moussa

Written by: The DHS Program

17 Jun, 2015

Name: Hamdy Moussa Position title: Survey Manager, Service Provision Assessment (SPA) Surveys Languages spoken: Arabic and English When not working, favorite place to visit: New York and Cairo Favorite type of cuisine: Mediterranean and Italian Last good book you read: Health Systems Performance Assessment: Debates, Methods and Empiricism, WHO Where would we find you on […]


From Population Pyramids to Ternary Plots: Visualizing Data for Demography

Written by: Erica Nybro

11 Jun, 2015

At this year’s Population Association of America (PAA) conference, The DHS Program staff (along with co-authors from JSI and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs) presented the first paper in the data visualization session.  It was called “Why Demographers Need to be Data Visualization Experts.”  It appears we were preaching to the choir.  While this […]


The Launch of the 2014 Egypt DHS

Written by: Laurie Liskin

03 Jun, 2015

Very few countries have as much experience with The DHS Program as Egypt. Since 1988, Egypt has implemented seven standard DHS surveys, three Interim Surveys, one In-Depth Study, and two Service Provision Assessment Surveys (SPA).  Data collection is almost completed for a Health Indicator Survey (HIS), and plans are underway to start another SPA. So any […]


How Many Partners Does it Take to Run The DHS Program?

Written by: Erica Nybro

27 May, 2015

Most people don’t know just how many collaborating institutions are involved in the day-to-day implementation of The DHS Program.  ICF International is the prime contractor for The DHS Program.  But 20% of us who sit at ICF’s office in Rockville, Maryland, are actually employed by other partner organizations.  Who are these partners? Avenir Health (formerly the Futures Institute) specializes […]


Anthropometry measurement (height and weight) is a core component of DHS surveys that is used to generate indicators on nutritional status. The Biomarker Questionnaire now includes questions on clothing and hairstyle interference on measurements for both women and children for improved interpretation.