Survey ID Number
RWA_2014_DHS_v01_M
Title
Demographic and Health Survey 2014 - 2015
Data Collection Notes
PRETEST
A pretest was conducted from August 25 to September 22, 2014. Thirty-four individuals (17 women and 17 men) participated in the four-week pretest training and fieldwork practice for the 2014-15 RDHS. The majority of participants had worked in previous RDHS surveys. Training was conducted by representatives from the NISR, the MOH, the RBC Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Division, the RBC HIV division, and the RBC NRL, with technical assistance from ICF International. UNICEF provided training on the early childhood development module. Classroom instruction was provided during the first three weeks, and pretest fieldwork took place over five days in three rural villages and two urban villages. After the fieldwork, a debriefing session was held with the pretest field staff, and modifications to the questionnaires were made based on lessons drawn from the exercise.
TRAINING OF FIELD STAFF
The main training for the 2014-15 RDHS started on October 5, 2014, and ended on November 2, 2014. A total of 136 participants from across the country were invited to participate in the training. They were selected based on merit. Eighty-eight of the participants were female, and 48 were male. From October 6-25, the training focused on the questionnaires. These sessions were conducted by NISR trainers with support from ICF International. Class presentations by trainers were followed by mock interviews, group practice, and role playing among participants in the classroom. Guest speakers and experts (e.g., from the MOH, the RBC, and UNICEF) made brief presentation son the national health strategies related to nutrition, contraception, malaria, maternal and child health, the HIV voluntary counseling and testing component, and early childhood development before the questionnaire training session corresponding to each of these topics. This led to an understanding among fieldworkers that items included in the questionnaire would be useful in evaluating these health topics.
All participants were trained on the questionnaires through October 26. From October 27-30, 34 participants identified as health technicians were separated and trained on biomarkers. Meanwhile, the remaining participants continued to be trained on the questionnaires. Training on biomarkers was provided by representatives from the NRL with support from ICF International. Health technicians learned how to withdrawal blood samples for HIV testing, how to prepare blood slides for malaria testing, and how to conduct anemia and rapid malaria testing. In addition, procedures for handling and packaging dried blood spots and slides were reviewed and demonstrated. Training on taking anthropometry measurements (weight and height) was also covered in detail. Training included PowerPoint presentations to illustrate procedures and emphasized practice among lab technicians in order to ensure accuracy.
At the end of the main training, 17 teams were formed, each consisting of a team leader, a field editor, a health technician, a male interviewer, and three female interviewers. Team leaders received additional training on how to identify the selected households and different subsamples, data quality control procedures, and fieldwork coordination. Field editors received additional training on how to edit the questionnaires and on data quality control procedures.
FIELDWORK
Data collection for the 2014-15 RDHS was carried out by 17 field teams from November 9, 2014, to April 8, 2015. Each team was provided a vehicle with a driver. All questionnaires and blood specimens were transferred to the NISR office every 3-4 days by 10 supervisors from the NISR and NRL/RBC who also coordinated and supervised fieldwork activities. ICF International provided technical assistance during the entire five months of data collection period.