National Demographic and Health Survey

National Demographic and Health Survey
Name	National Demographic and Health Survey
Country	Various
Administered by	Demographic and Health Surveys Program
First conducted	1980s
Frequency	Varies
Topics	Fertility, Mortality, Family Planning

National Demographic and Health Survey is a standardized household survey program used to measure population, health, and nutrition indicators across countries. The survey series has been implemented in collaboration with international agencies, bilateral donors, and national statistical offices to inform policy decisions and program design. Results have been cited alongside major datasets and institutions to monitor progress on international targets.

Overview

The survey series is coordinated by organizations such as the Demographic and Health Surveys Program, the United States Agency for International Development, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and the World Bank. National partners commonly include the National Statistical Office (country), ministries of health, and institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Population Council. Data topics align with priorities set by frameworks such as the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, and global initiatives led by the GAVI Alliance and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Methodology

Field operations often follow protocols developed by the DHS Program, with sampling designs influenced by methods from the United Nations Statistical Commission, stratified two-stage cluster samples used in surveys like the India National Family Health Survey and the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Questionnaires borrow modules tested in studies by the World Fertility Survey and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys run by UNICEF. Biomarker collection protocols reference standards from the International Organization for Migration and laboratory guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Weighting and estimation procedures are informed by statistical texts associated with the Royal Statistical Society and outputs comparable to datasets from the European Social Survey.

Key Findings

Findings typically cover fertility trends paralleling analyses seen in work by demographers at the International Institute for Population Sciences, shifts in contraceptive prevalence discussed in publications from the Guttmacher Institute, and child mortality estimates akin to reports from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Nutrition indicators often mirror results highlighted by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. Maternal health and service coverage statistics are frequently compared with evaluations by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. HIV prevalence and testing outcomes are interpreted alongside surveillance data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Data Quality and Limitations

Quality assurance processes reference standards from the International Organization for Standardization and audit practices similar to those used by the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). Limitations noted include nonresponse patterns studied in the literature of the American Statistical Association, sampling frame challenges comparable to issues documented by the U.S. Census Bureau, and recall bias discussed in analyses published by the British Medical Journal. Issues with biomarker storage and transport trace back to cold-chain recommendations from the World Health Organization. Comparability over time may be affected by questionnaire revisions like those tracked by the Inter-agency Group on Child Mortality Estimation.

Implementation and Governance

Governance structures typically involve national steering committees with representation from ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India), central agencies like the National Bureau of Statistics (Nigeria), and technical partners including the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Funding and oversight have included contributions from the United States Agency for International Development, bilateral partners such as DFID (United Kingdom), philanthropic entities like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and multilateral organizations including the World Bank. Ethical review aligns with institutional review boards modeled after guidance from the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences and the National Institutes of Health.

Use and Impact

Survey outputs inform national strategies and have been used in policy documents produced by ministries modeled on templates from the Ministry of Health (Rwanda), program evaluations by agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development, and global monitoring by entities like the United Nations Population Division. Academic analyses drawing on survey data have been published in journals associated with institutions including the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Data have supported modeling efforts by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and resource allocation tools developed by the Global Financing Facility.

Category:Demographic surveys