Demographic and Health Surveys

Since 2001, The DHS Program has worked in over 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and Caribbean conducting population-based HIV testing. By collecting blood for HIV testing from representative samples of the population of men and women in a country, the DHS Program provides nationally representative estimates of HIV rates. The testing protocol provides for anonymous, informed, and voluntary testing of women and men.

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 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), the Reproductive Health Surveys (RHS), the Sexual Behavior Surveys (SBS), and Behavioral Surveillance Surveys (BSS).[3] Eventually it will cover all countries for which indicators are available. The project also collects data on the capacity of health care facilities to deliver HIV prevention and treatment services.

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.

The DHS Program researches and trains for integrating gender into population, health and nutrition programs and HIV/AIDS-related activities in the developing world.

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]

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.[5] The Youth Corner is part of the broader effort by the Interagency Youth Working Group (IYWG) to help program managers, donors, national and local governments, teachers, religious leaders, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) plan and implement programs to improve the reproductive health of young adults.[6]

The DHS Program now analyzes the impact of geographic location using DHS data and geographic information systems (GIS). The DHS Program routinely collects geographic information in all surveyed countries. Using GIS, researchers can link DHS data with routine health data, health facility locations, local infrastructure such as roads and rivers, and environmental conditions.

Using field-friendly technologies, the DHS Program is able to collect biomarker data relating to conditions and infections. DHS surveys have tested for anemia (by measuring hemoglobin), HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and the herpes simplex virus, serum retinol (Vitamin A), lead exposure, high blood pressure, and immunity from vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and tetanus. Traditionally, much of the data gathered in DHS surveys is self-reported. Biomarkers complement this information by providing an objective profile of a specific disease or health condition in a population. Biomarker data contributes to the understanding of behavioral risk factors and determinants of different illnesses.