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INTRODUCTION

Part III of this monograph contains detailed profiles of all INDEPTH DSS sites contributing mortality data to the comparative analyses presented in Part II. Part III is intended as a reference for those who wish to know more about any particular site and the context of the population it monitors, the specific methods it uses, and some of its additional demographic outputs.

Information for each site is provided in separate profiles, presented in a standardized format to allow easy comparisons of selected features between sites. A map panel is also provided to help the reader appreciate the exact location of each DSS site.

The first section of each profile provides full details of the physical and human geography of the DSS area. These details include the following:

• Geographic location, including longitude, latitude, and altitude;
• Administrative location (regions, districts, etc);
• DSS dimensions and area;
• Main geoecological and climatic zone;
• Seasonality (temperature ranges, annual rainfall, seasons); and
• Unique features.

The first section of each profile also provides population characteristics of the DSS site, including

• Monitored population and population density;
• Status, whether rural, peri-urban, or urban;
• Main ethnic groups;
• Major religions;
• Major languages;
• Main occupations;
• Schools;
• Literacy among those =15 years old, male and female;
• Housing;
• Water and sanitation;
• Access (paved or unpaved roads, public-transportion services, telecommunications);
• Electrification;
• Health services (for example, number of hospitals, health centres, dispensaries, health posts; user fees or free health services; coverage of major health interventions, such as immunization; use of major health interventions);
• Main health problems;
• Other socioeconomic indicators, such as household income, if available;
• History pertinent to site demographics (for example, epidemics, war, droughts, floods, famines, refugee situations); and
• Any other unique features.

The second section of each site profile is dedicated to the site itself. This section contains introductory information on the site, including

• Original and current objectives of the DSS site;
• Start-up year and evolution of the DSS site (original population and current population under surveillance, etc.);
• Main DSS features (for example, update-round intervals, definitions of residency, types of verbal autopsy ([VA], software systems);
• Main demographic, health, and socioeconomic variables that the DSS site measures routinely;
• Additional parameters measured in special nested surveys at the DSS site;
• DSS organization (staff, infrastructure, institutional base, etc.);
• Unique features (for example, other models of data linkage); and
• Usual consumers of site DSS data (dissemination).

In the second section of each site profile, you will also find details on the site’s procedures for DSS data collection and processing, including field procedures such as the following:

• Mapping;
• Initial census;
• Regular update rounds;
• Continuous surveillance (vital and other events, VA); and
• Supervision and quality control.

You will also find data-management procedures, such as

• Data handling and data processing;
• Data-quality assurance and links back to field operations; and
• Data analysis and packaging.

The third section of each site profile provides the basic outputs of the DSS site, including demographic indicators generated by the site, such as

• Population size;
• Main age-group structure (percentage <1, 0–4, 5–14, 15–64, and =65 years old);
• Age-dependency ratio [(population <15 years old + population =65 years old) ÷ (population 15–64 years old)];
• Sex ratio;
• Total fertility rate;
• Infant mortality rate;
• Under-five mortality rate;
• Maternal mortality ratio;
• Average household size;
• Household headship; and
• Percentage literate by sex at =15 years old.

A graphic of the current population pyramid for the site is also provided, along with a table with the age- and sex-specific all-cause mortality by 5-year age groups. Some sites also provide tables of age-specific fertility and migration rates.

The site profiles are sequenced, first according to geographic area, then by country alphabetically, and finally by site alphabetically. Hence, they appear in the following order:

East Africa

• Ethiopia — Butajira DSS
• Tanzania — Dar es Salaam DSS; Hai DSS; Ifakara DSS; Morogoro DSS; Rufiji DSS
• Zambia — Gwembe DSS

Southern Africa

• Mozambique — Manhiça DSS
• South Africa — Agincourt DSS; Dikgale DSS; Hlabisa DSS

West Africa

• Burkina Faso — Nouna DSS; Oubritenga DSS
• The Gambia — Farafenni DSS
• Ghana — Navrongo DSS
• Guinea-Bissau — Bandim DSS
• Senegal — Bandafassi DSS; Mlomp DSS; Niakhar DSS

Asia

• Bangladesh — Matlab DSS; Operations Research Project DSS
• Viet Nam — FilaBavi DSS

For quick reference, Table III.1 provides a matrix of key features of all the sites in these profiles.

Document(s) 19 of 38