title: Reweighting DHS data to serve multiple perspectives.
abstract: Information about health and family planning infrastructures is collected through the service availability module (SAM), an important feature of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in many developing countries. The DHS samples were designed to provide a representative sample of households and women of reproductive age. Using the weights routinely provided with DHS data sets, service accessibility can be described straightforwardly at the individual and household levels. However, without further adjustment, SAM data do not provide a representative picture of service delivery at the community, or primary sampling unit, level, where the data are collected. This report proposes a methodology for reweighting the SAM data, using rural data from the Egypt DHS as an illustration, so that available family planning facilities at this level may be usefully characterized at little additional cost.
authors.affiliation: Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48104-2590, USA.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Hermalin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Entwisle
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Khadr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003906:Developing Countries; D004534:Egypt; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012494:Sampling Studies