Methods for health surveys in difficult settings

Oleg Bilukha, Kristof Bostoen, Francesco Checchi, Bridget Fenn, Oliver Morgan and Anne-Marie ter Veen

Collection published in Emerging Themes in Epidemiology

Old and new cluster designs in emergency field surveys: in search of a one-fits-all solution

Cluster surveys are frequently used to measure key nutrition and health indicators in humanitarian emergencies. The survey design of 30 clusters of 7 children (30 × 7) was initially proposed by the World Healt...

Authors: Oleg O Bilukha

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2008 5:7

Content type: Analytic perspective Published on: 8 July 2008
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Methods for health surveys in difficult settings: charting progress, moving forward

Health surveys are a very important component of the epidemiology toolbox, and play a critical role in gauging population health, especially in developing countries. Research on health survey methods, however,...

Authors: Kristof Bostoen, Oleg O Bilukha, Bridget Fenn, Oliver W Morgan, Clarence C Tam, Annemarie ter Veen and Francesco Checchi

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:13

Content type: Editorial Published on: 1 June 2007
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Who should be undertaking population-based surveys in humanitarian emergencies?

Timely and accurate data are necessary to prioritise and effectively respond to humanitarian emergencies. 30-by-30 cluster surveys are commonly used in humanitarian emergencies because of their purported simpl...

Authors: Paul B Spiegel

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:12

Content type: Commentary Published on: 1 June 2007
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Mortality and nutrition surveys by Non-Governmental organisations. Perspectives from the CE-DAT database

In this paper we explore the strengths and gaps among NGO surveys based on an analysis of the records held in the CE-DAT database at CRED. We conclude by recommending the priority areas for strengthening NGO c...

Authors: Olivier Degomme and Debarati Guha-Sapir

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:11

Content type: Commentary Published on: 1 June 2007
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A review of methodology and analysis of nutrition and mortality surveys conducted in humanitarian emergencies from October 1993 to April 2004

Malnutrition prevalence and mortality rates are increasingly used as essential indicators to assess the severity of a crisis, to follow trends, and to guide decision-making, including allocation of funds. Alth...

Authors: Claudine Prudhon and Paul B Spiegel

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:10

Content type: Analytic perspective Published on: 1 June 2007
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Wanted: studies on mortality estimation methods for humanitarian emergencies, suggestions for future research

Measuring rates and circumstances of population mortality (in particular crude and under-5 year mortality rates) is essential to evidence-based humanitarian relief interventions. Because prospective vital even...

Authors:

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:9

Content type: Analytic perspective Published on: 1 June 2007
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Don't spin the pen: two alternative methods for second-stage sampling in urban cluster surveys

In two-stage cluster surveys, the traditional method used in second-stage sampling (in which the first household in a cluster is selected) is time-consuming and may result in biased estimates of the indicator ...

Authors: Rebecca F Grais, Angela MC Rose and Jean-Paul Guthmann

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:8

Content type: Analytic perspective Published on: 1 June 2007
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Optimisation of the T-square sampling method to estimate population sizes

Population size and density estimates are needed to plan resource requirements and plan health related interventions. Sampling frames are not always available necessitating surveys using non-standard household...

Authors: Kristof Bostoen, Zaid Chalabi and Rebecca F Grais

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:7

Content type: Analytic perspective Published on: 1 June 2007
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Sampling in health geography: reconciling geographical objectives and probabilistic methods. An example of a health survey in Vientiane (Lao PDR)

Geographical objectives and probabilistic methods are difficult to reconcile in a unique health survey. Probabilistic methods focus on individuals to provide estimates of a variable's prevalence with a certain...

Authors: Julie Vallée, Marc Souris, Florence Fournet, Audrey Bochaton, Virginie Mobillion, Karine Peyronnie and Gérard Salem

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:6

Content type: Methodology Published on: 1 June 2007
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The use of personal digital assistants for data entry at the point of collection in a large household survey in southern Tanzania

Survey data are traditionally collected using pen-and-paper, with double data entry, comparison of entries and reconciliation of discrepancies before data cleaning can commence. We used Personal Digital Assist...

Authors: Kizito Shirima, Oscar Mukasa, Joanna Armstrong Schellenberg, Fatuma Manzi, Davis John, Adiel Mushi, Mwifadhi Mrisho, Marcel Tanner, Hassan Mshinda and David Schellenberg

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:5

Content type: Methodology Published on: 1 June 2007
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Assessing household wealth in health studies in developing countries: a comparison of participatory wealth ranking and survey techniques from rural South Africa

Accurate tools for assessing household wealth are essential for many health studies in developing countries. Household survey and participatory wealth ranking (PWR) are two approaches to generate data for this...

Authors: James R Hargreaves, Linda A Morison, John SS Gear, Julia C Kim, Mzamani B Makhubele, John DH Porter, Charlotte Watts and Paul M Pronyk

Citation: Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2007 4:4

Content type: Methodology Published on: 1 June 2007
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