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Data on birth weight in developing countries: can surveys help?

J T Boerma1, K I Weinstein, S O Rutstein

  • 1TANESA Project, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
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Demographic and Health Surveys provide valuable data for estimating national low birth weight incidence. However, recalled birth weight data has significant misclassification, limiting its use for individual assessments.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Demography
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Health facility statistics are the primary source for birth weight data in developing nations, but often lack comprehensive national estimates.
  • Data from health facilities are prone to selection bias, representing only a fraction of the neonate population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the utility of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data for estimating national mean birth weight and low birth weight incidence.
  • To assess the accuracy of recalled birth weight and relative size at birth from DHS for public health assessments.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 15 national Demographic and Health Surveys conducted since 1990.
  • Examination of recalled birth weight and relative size at birth information collected in these cross-sectional surveys.
Keywords:
BiologyBirth WeightBody WeightData AnalysisData CollectionData QualityData SourcesDemographic And Health SurveysDemographic FactorsDemographic SurveysDeveloping CountriesLow Birth WeightPhysiologyPopulationPopulation DynamicsResearch MethodologyResearch Report

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Main Results:

  • Cross-sectional surveys, like the DHS, can serve as a valuable resource for national birth weight estimations.
  • The misclassification rate in recalled birth weight data is too high for reliable individual-level assessment of low birth weight.

Conclusions:

  • Demographic and Health Surveys offer a viable method for estimating national birth weight trends and low birth weight prevalence.
  • Relative size at birth data from surveys is not sufficiently accurate for identifying individual cases of low birth weight.