Addressing unintentional exclusion of vulnerable and mobile households in traditional surveys in Kathmandu, Dhaka and Hanoi : a mixed methods feasibility study

The methods used in low- and middle-income countries’ (LMICs) household surveys have not changed in four decades; however, LMIC societies have changed substantially and now face unprecedented rates of urbanization and urbanization of poverty. This mismatch may result in unintentional exclusion of vulnerable and mobile urban populations. We compare three survey method innovations with standard survey methods in Kathmandu, Dhaka, and Hanoi and summarize feasibility of our innovative methods in terms of time, cost, skill requirements, and experiences. We used descriptive statistics and regression techniques to compare respondent characteristics in samples drawn with innovative versus standard survey designs and household definitions, adjusting for sample probability weights and clustering. Feasibility of innovative methods was evaluated using a thematic framework analysis of focus group discussions with survey field staff, and via survey planner budgets. We found that a common household definition excluded single adults (46.9%) and migrant-headed households (6.7%), as well as non-married (8.5%), unemployed (10.5%), disabled (9.3%), and studying adults (14.3%). Further, standard two-stage sampling resulted in fewer single adult and non-family households than an innovative area-microcensus design; however, two-stage sampling resulted in more tent and shack dwellers. Our survey innovations provided good value for money, and field staff experiences were neutral or positive. Staff recommended streamlining field tools and pairing technical and survey content experts during fieldwork. This evidence of exclusion of vulnerable and mobile urban populations in LMIC household surveys is deeply concerning and underscores the need to modernize survey methods and practices

Surveys for Urban Equity

This dataset contains results and documentation from three cross-sectional urban household surveys done in Kathmandu (Nepal), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2017 and 2018. The surveys primarily aimed to test the feasibility of using new urban household survey methods that try to better cover/capture informal/slum settlements using sampling frame data generated from random forest models that incorporate census data (which is often outdated and inaccurate) with multiple remotely-sensed covariates, such as urbanisation and infrastructure data. Additionally, the surveys also aimed to gather data on a range of topics including many that are not commonly collected in household surveys, particularly of urban areas: A) basic socio-demographic details of household members, B) household characteristics, assets, income and expenses, C) household migration and social capital, D) household member injury and injury related death, and, for one individual per household, E) migration, social capital and depression/mental health. See the "Readme - dataset file descriptions.docx” file for a description of all files and datasets available, plus additional relevant references

Social autopsy for maternal and perinatal deaths in Bangladesh: a tool for community dialog and decision making

Abstract Bangladesh has an established comprehensive death review system for tracking and reviewing maternal and perinatal deaths. This death review system, established in 2010, was initially known as the “Maternal and Perinatal Death Review (MPDR) System.” One of the key interventions of the MPDR system, social autopsy (SA), is generally undertaken following a maternal or perinatal death notification. Social autopsy is managed at the community level by government field health workers. The main purpose of SA is to enable community discussion and create awareness of the preventable causes of maternal or neonatal deaths. Through these conversations, it is hoped to reduce future maternal and neonatal deaths. During the scaling up of the system in Bangladesh in 2016, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) included social autopsy as a useful intervention in reviewing death at the community level and named it “Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response” (MPDSR). The new MPDSR tool is currently being administered for the the 2017 to 2021 period under the National Health and Nutrition Population Sector Program (HPNSP). This paper seeks to review the experiences of the social autopsy tool, from the initial MPDR system to the current MPDSR system and its role in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths in Bangladesh

Epidemiology of childhood blindness : A community-based study in Bangladesh

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and causes of childhood blindness in a rural area of Bangladesh. We adopted a cross-sectional quantitative study design for this study, which was performed in three unions (sub-districts) located in Raiganj Upazila of the Sirajganj district in Bangladesh. Using a validated tool, a screening program was conducted at the household level. After initial screening, a team of ophthalmologists confirmed the diagnoses by clinical examinations. The prevalence of childhood blindness was observed to be 6.3 per 10,000 children, whereas the rate of uniocular blindness was 4.8 per 10,000 children. Congenital problems were the major causes of both uniocular and binocular blindness (uniocular blindness: 84% and binocular blindness: 92%). The whole globe was the site responsible for binocular blindness (28.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 13.1, 47.7), whereas the cornea was responsible for uniocular blindness (57.8%, 95% CI: 35.3, 78.1). Childhood blindness is a public health problem in Bangladesh and is highly prevalent, regardless of sex. The major causes of childhood blindness are congenital