Methodology

The DHS Program provides decision makers and program managers with the information necessary to plan, monitor, and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs.

Survey Types

 

The DHS Program supports a range of data collection options that can be tailored to fit specific monitoring and evaluation needs of host countries. Learn more about the types of surveys, secondary data analysis, and specialized studies that The DHS Program performs.

Survey Process

 

The DHS Program has developed standard procedures, methodologies, and manuals to guide the survey process.  Many steps are required to ensure that the data properly reflect the situations they intend to describe and that data are comparable across countries.
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Protecting the Privacy of Respondents

 

The DHS Program maintains strict standards for protecting the privacy of respondents and household members in all DHS surveys.
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Dissemination

 

Dissemination of the survey results is a key objective of the survey program in order to promote the use of survey data for policy and program purposes. Each DHS Program survey incorporates a mix of dissemination products and activities.
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Analysis

 

Analysis of DHS data provides more in-depth understanding of health issues within a country and synthesizes information from across multiple DHS surveys that can be essential to informing policy and programs.
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Capacity Strengthening

 

The DHS Program strives to enhance the capacities of DHS partners and increase country accountability and ownership of survey data, as well as the processes for data collection, analysis, dissemination, and use.
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Photo credit: Liz Britton, ICF