Background: Current demographic and health data sources in Bangladesh lack the specificity needed to guide local-level planning for health services. This fact motivated the Rural Service Delivery Project (RSDP), a component of the National Integrated Population and Health Program providing family health services in rural areas, to develop a Family Registration (FR) system to collect household demographic and health information.
Methods: A survey was developed and pilot tested to provide a picture of priority populations at the household level including married couples, children under 5 years of age, and adolescents covered by service delivery sites. Survey data were compared at the district level to Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data for reliability on indicators including population and CPR.
Results: The survey was conducted in 171 rural thanas, covering a total population of 8.2 million, including 1.5 million married couples, 952,654 children under 5, and 1.4 million adolescents. The CPR was found to be 51%. Survey data followed similar trends as the DHS, suggesting that the survey is an accurate reflection of the demographic and health situation in RSDP catchment areas.
Discussion: The survey provided a quick and effective way for health workers to identify potential service users and mobilize populations for targeted behavior change communication activities. Furthermore, the process helped to build program sustainability through the transfer of data collection and analysis skills to local staff. Lessons learned related to the timing of the survey, training needs, and survey design will be presented.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1) describe a model for collecting local-level demographic and health data, 2) describe three ways that local-level data can be used for planning and decision making by rural clinic staff, and 3) apply lessons learned to future programs seeking to enhance the use of data for local-level decision making.
Keywords: International Health, Planning
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.