Demographic and Health Survey 2015

Brief Description

The 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (2015 ZDHS) presents the major findings of a nationally representative survey with a sample of more than 11,000 households. The ZDHS was conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), from July through December 2015. The 2015 ZDHS is the sixth such survey to be conducted in Zimbabwe as a follow-up to the 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005-06, and 2010-11 surveys and provides basic demographic and health indicators. Pursuant to the global trend on the use of modern technology in data collection, the 2010-11 survey, adopted the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) rather than paper questionnaires for recording responses during interviews. In the 2015 survey, Asus tablets operating on Windows 8.1 software were used during data collection and these offer more features that the PDAs.

The primary objective of the 2015 ZDHS survey is to provide current demographic and health information for use by policymakers, planners, researchers and programme managers. Specific topics covered in the survey include: respondent demographic characteristics, reproductive and contraceptive history, fertility preferences, family planning methods, infant and child mortality, knowledge and attitudes about sexually transmitted infections, maternal health, breastfeeding and complementary feeding, anaemia prevalence in children and women, ownership of mosquito nets, knowledge of HIV prevention methods, comprehensive knowledge of HIV prevention among young people, multiple sexual partners, coverage of prior HIV testing, male circumcision, prevention of cervical cancer, domestic violence and maternal mortality.