Demographic and Health Surveys
The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program is responsible for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on health and population in
The DHS is highly comparable to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and the technical teams developing and supporting the surveys are in close collaboration.[1]
Since September 2013, ICF International has been partnering with seven internationally experienced organizations to expand access to and use of the DHS data: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs; Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (
Overview
Since 1984, The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program has provided technical assistance to more than 300 demographic and health surveys in over 90 countries. DHS surveys collect information on
Surveys
The DHS Program supports the following data collection options:[citation needed]
- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS): provide data for monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition.
- AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS): provide countries with a standardized tool to obtain indicators for the effective monitoring of national HIV/AIDS programs.
- Service Provision Assessment (SPA) Surveys: provide information about the characteristics of health and family planning services available in a country.
- Malaria Indicators Surveys (MIS): Provide data on bednet ownership and use, prevention of malaria during pregnancy, and prompt and effective treatment of fever in young children. In some cases, biomarker testing for malaria and anemia are also included.
- Key Indicators Survey (KIS): provide monitoring and evaluation data for population and health activities in small areas—regions, districts, catchment areas—that may be targeted by an individual project, although they can be used in nationally representative surveys as well.
- Other Quantitative Data: include Geographic Data Collection, and Benchmarking Surveys.
- Biomarker Collection: in conjunction with surveys, more than 2 million tests have been conducted for HIV, anemia, malaria, and more than 25 other biomarkers.
- Qualitative Research: provides information outside the purview of standard quantitative approaches.
Data
The DHS Program works to provide survey data for program managers, health care providers, policymakers, country leaders, researchers, members of the media, and others who can act to improve public health. The DHS Program distributes unrestricted survey data files for legitimate academic research at no cost.[citation needed]
Online databases include: STATcompiler, STATmapper, HIV/AIDS Survey Indicators Database, HIV Spatial Data Repository, HIVmapper, and Country QuickStats.
Publications
The DHS Program produces publications that provide country specific and comparative data on population, health, and nutrition in developing countries. Most publications are available online for download, but if an electronic version of the publication is not available, a hard copy may be available.
Countries
The DHS Program has been active in over 90 countries in Africa, Asia, Central Asia; West Asia; and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. A list of the publications for each country is available online at The DHS Program web site.[2]
Special Focus Topics
HIV/AIDS
Since 2001, The DHS Program has worked in over 15 countries in
The program also collects data on internationally recognized AIDS indicators. Currently, the main sources of HIV/AIDS indicators in the database are the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the
Malaria
Since 2000, DHS (and some AIS) surveys have collected data on ownership and use of mosquito nets, treatment of fever in children, and intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women. In recent years, additional questions on indoor residual spraying, and biomarker testing for anemia and malaria have been conducted. This has however not changed the trend in malaria infections thereby calling for more interventions by researchers and scientists.
Gender
The DHS Program researches and trains for integrating gender into population, health and nutrition programs and HIV/AIDS-related activities in the developing world.[citation needed]
Questions on gender roles and empowerment are integrated into most DHS questionnaires. For countries interested in more in-depth data on gender, modules of questions are available on specific topics such as status of women, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation.[4]
Youth
The DHS Program has interviewed thousands of young people and gathered information about their education, employment, media exposure, nutrition, sexual activity, fertility, unions, and general reproductive health, including HIV prevalence.
The Youth Corner on the DHS website presents findings about youth and features profiles of young adults ages 15–24 from more than 30 countries worldwide.
Geographic information
The DHS Program now analyzes the impact of geographic location using DHS data and
Biomarkers
Using field-friendly technologies, the DHS Program is able to collect biomarker data relating to conditions and infections. DHS surveys have tested for
See also
- National Survey of Family Growth
- PMA2020Family Planning and WASH surveys
References
- ^ "UNICEF" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ The DHS Program Country List
- ^ FHI.org BSS
- ^ "DHS Questionnaires". The DHS Program. Archived from the original on Mar 7, 2020.
- ^ The DHS Program, "Youth Corner".
- ^ "Interagency Youth Working Group". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: The INFO Project. Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-04-11.