Survey ID Number
SLB_2006_DHS_v01_M
Title
Demographic and Health Survey 2006-2007
Questionnaires
Three questionnaires — a household questionnaire, a women's questionnaire and a men's questionnaire —were used in the SIDHS. The contents of these questionnaires were based on model questionnaires developed by the MEASURE DHS program at Macro International.
In consultation with MOH, SINSO and Macro, staff modified the DHS model questionnaires to reflect relevant issues in population, family planning, HIV and AIDS, and other health issues in the Solomon Islands. The questionnaires were translated into Pidgin and back-translated in order to check accuracy.
The household questionnaire was used to list all the usual members and visitors in the selected households. Some basic information was collected on the characteristics of each person listed, including age, sex, education, and relationship to the head of the household. The main purpose of the household questionnaire was to identify women and men who were eligible for the individual interview. The household questionnaire also collected information on characteristics of the household’s dwelling unit, such as source of water, type of toilet facilities, materials used for the floor and roof of the house, ownership of various durable goods, and ownership and use of mosquito nets. In addition, this questionnaire was also used to record height and weight measurements of women aged 15–49, men aged 15 and above, and children under the age of 5 years, as well as consent from women, and children’s parent or guardian to give blood samples for anaemia and blood pressure testing among women and men.
The women's questionnaire was used to collect information from all women aged 15–49 on:
• Background characteristics (education, residential history, media exposure, etc.)
• Reproductive history and child mortality
• Knowledge and use of family planning methods
• Fertility preferences
• Antenatal and delivery care
• Breastfeeding and infant feeding practices
• Vaccinations and childhood illnesses
• Marriage and sexual activity
• Woman’s work and husband’s background characteristics
• Infant and child feeding practices
• Awareness and behaviour about AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
The men’s questionnaire collected similar information contained in the women's questionnaire, but was shorter because it did not contain questions on reproductive history, contraceptive calendar, and maternal and child health and nutrition.
Both informal and formal pre-tests of the questionnaires were undertaken. In July 2006, an informal pre-test was done through self-administration of the individual women’s and men’s questionnaires, respectively, by six female and four male SINSO staff members.
A more formal three-week pre-test was undertaken for the interviewers from 21 August to 2 September 2006, inclusive of Saturdays. The pre-test training for the nurses/health technicians started a few days later, and went from 25 August to 2 September. Twelve pre-test interviewers (seven males and five females) were expected to become team supervisors and field editors during the main enumeration. Four nurses/health technicians were trained for accuracy and reliability of the various measurements. Most pre-test interviewers had experience as interviewers in the 2006 Household Income and Expenditures Survey. Recruitment was done through radio advertisement and recommendation of SINSO staff.
Pre-test training for the interviewers consisted of classroom lectures, demonstration interviews, front-of-class interviews, mock interviews, quizzes and tests, and three days of field practice. Instructional materials included the household questionnaire, the women’s questionnaire, the men’s questionnaire, four field control forms, and various PowerPoint presentations. A whiteboard, an electronic projector and a laptop computer were also used during the pre-test training. The pre-test resulted in revising the translation of some questions and skip instructions.