OTHER SURVEYS

Demographers and sociologists engaged in academic and consultancy research generate data on demographic variables. Many of them are now using data collected by national and sub-national surveys, such as demographic and health surveys (DHS), national family health surveys (NFHS), reproductive, child health surveys (RCHS), and youth surveys. Several private research organizations and NGOs are involved in consultancy and operations research. They generate their own data to help the planners in testing strategies and schemes. This lecture provides a brief introduction to NFHS and RCHS.

NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEYS

National family health surveys (NFHS) was initiated in 1991. This was an important component of the Project to Strengthen the Survey Research Capabilities of the Population Research Centres in India . NFHS was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) which designated International Institute of Population Sciences as the nodal agency. It was followed by two more national family health surveys, called NFHS-2 and NFHS-3. These surveys have produced national and state level estimates of fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health care and the utilization of services provided for mothers and children. NFHS-3 has also provided data on reproductive and child health indicators including reproductive tract infection (RTI) and sexually transmitted infections (STI). NFHS-3, for the first time, made use of biomarkers and produced data on anemia and prevalence of HIV.