Overview

Geographic location affects peoples’ health, nutrition, and access to health care services. The MEASURE DHS project can now analyze the impact of location using DHS data and geographic information systems (GIS). These spatial analyses improve our understanding of how location affects health status, leading to more effective interventions.

MEASURE DHS routinely collects geographic information in all surveyed countries. Using GIS, researchers can link DHS data with routine health data, health facility locations, local infrastructure such as roads and rivers, and environmental conditions. Linked DHS and geographic data are now being used to improve planning for family planning interventions, to assess the correlation of malaria prevalence and anemia in children in West Africa, and to analyze the effects of environment on early childhood mortality.

MEASURE DHS is a recognized leader in training local interviewers to collect geographic information. For both DHS and Service Provision Assessment surveys (SPA), local researchers are trained to use hand-held Global Positioning System units to collect latitude and longitude coordinates in the field. These coordinates indicate the location of surveyed communities and/or health facilities. The GPS data collection standards and manual prepared by MEASURE DHS are now being used for the World Bank’s Living Standards and Measurement studies and the World Health Organization’s World Health Surveys. UNICEF has also adapted the DHS manual for their Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in the upcoming round of data collection.