Title: Determining male fertility through surveys. The DHS experience.

POPLINE Document Number: 101260

Author(s):

Blanc AK

Source citation:

[Unpublished] 1993. Presented at the International Population Conference / Congres International de la Population, Montreal, Canada, August 24 - September 1, 1993. Sponsored by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]. 9, [19] p.

Abstract:

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) have been conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s with samples of married men. Nine countries have conducted these surveys, of which six were in sub-Saharan Africa. Six countries, of which five were in Sub-Saharan Africa, included all men, regardless of marital status. The use of male respondents in the DHS has produced some methodological issues: the nature of the sample, the nature of the questions, field procedure changes, changed measures of data quality, and expected response rates. The survey results indicate that reports of contraceptive use may vary widely between men and women. In Tanzania, men consistently reported higher contraceptive use rates than women. In the age groups 35-39 years, men reported 33% use and women reported 13% use. In the Northeast Region of Brazil, contraceptive use rates of men and women were more similar; women tended to report higher rates up to the age of 40-44 years and men reported higher rates after 45 years. The tendency is for women to report using the pill, and men were more likely to report the sterilization of the wife. In Cameroon, contraceptive use among men was 20%; among women, 16%. Men reported condom use and periodic and postpartum abstinence. Women tended to report pill use. Ideal family sizes were different between men and women. Similar family size desires were reported in Burundi, Kenya, Northeast Brazil, and Tanzania. Men were not asked for birth histories, but for how many children they had by sex. The number of living children reported by men and women showed women with more children between the ages of 25 years and about 40 years and men with more children with increasing age. For married men after age 50, the average number of living children was almost 10 children in Kenya. This pattern is similar to the pattern in Ghana and was attributed to the practice of polygyny and the large age gap between spouses which can be 10-15 years. In Burundi, men reported more living children than women for all age groups. In Northeast Brazil, the children reports were similar for men and women, with women reporting a slightly larger number. The issue of men not living with their children increases the risk of men not knowing whether a child is alive or not or the age of the child, which makes for difficult assessment of data quality. Male interviewers were used to conduct the survey in order to assure more accurate responses.

Keywords:

Summary Report
Demographic and Health Surveys
Family Planning Surveys
Fertility
Survey Methodology
Data Collection
Demographic Analysis
Men
Demographic Surveys
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Family Planning
Surveys
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology