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 […]
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 […]
The DHS Program regularly gets questions from users about sampling and weighting. “How do I apply sample weights in multilevel analyses?” or “What is the difference between self weighting data and non-self weighting data?” On June 3, 2015, three DHS experts will answer users’ questions on “Weights and other adjustments for the survey design” in […]
Name(s): Saikou Trawally, Alieu Saho, and Momodou L. Cham Country of origin: The Gambia Position titles and organizations: Officials of The Gambia Bureau of Statistics and National Population Commission Secretariat When not working, favorite place to visit: Shopping sites, relatives and friends, and site seeing cultural centers. First time you worked with The DHS Program’s data: Momodou: […]
Malaria kills more than 500,000 Africans every year. Consistent use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), early diagnosis and treatment, and prophylactic use of antimalarials during pregnancy can save thousands of lives. But according to the 2011-12 Tanzania HIV and Malaria Indicator Survey (THMIS), many families are not practicing these life saving measures. To get the […]
In 2006 I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, preparing for the release of the 2005 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). In the days leading up to the national seminar and launch of the EDHS report, two separate individuals approached me at my hotel, both looking for an “advance copy” of the report. One was writing a […]
In January, 2015, 11 biomarker specialists from 8 countries met in Uganda to participate in the first-ever South-to-South DHS Program Biomarker Workshop. Participants all had previous experience with DHS surveys, either as consultants or as in-country staff. The objectives of the training were to emphasize mastery of technical biomarker content and training materials, strengthen consultants […]
This part of a series of posts introducing readers to new staff at The DHS Program. Welcome,! Name: Position title: Senior Research Associate Languages spoken: English, Arabic and basic Italian When not working, favorite place to visit: Lebanon and Italy Favorite type of cuisine: Mediterranean food (especially Middle-Eastern and Italian) but I also love Thai and […]
By Guillermo Rojas The survey process at The DHS Program takes an average of 18-20 months and goes through several steps: survey preparation and questionnaire design, training and fieldwork, data processing, and finally, writing the final report and dissemination. But how do the data get from respondents’ households into the tables you see in the […]
We sat down with Martin Vaessen, former director of The DHS Program, to hear his thoughts about the past 30 years of The DHS Program. Martin is a demographer and survey specialist with more than 35 years of experience providing technical assistance in all phases of survey implementation in developing countries. He was instrumental in […]
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.