Overview

Identification

COUNTRY

Mongolia

TITLE

RHS 2008
 

STUDY TYPE

Other Household Health Survey [hh/hea]
 

SERIES INFORMATION

This survey was conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2008 for the third time. We hope that the 2008 Reproductive Health Survey, presented in the form of comparison with the results of the previous two surveys, conducted in 1998 and 2003, would contribute significantly to objectively addressing social issues, assist in the development of policies, implementation of programmes and monitoring and evaluation of their progress. The importance of this survey is to provide data for a wide range of activities, including monitoring the indicators of the Millenium Development Goals, evaluating policies at the international and national levels, assessing required measures related to programme implementation in the future, and conducting additional in-depth research and analysis.
 

Version

VERSION DESCRIPTION

-v1.0:Raw data for internal use only.
 

PRODUCTION DATE

2009-06-30

Overview

ABSTRACT

The objective of this survey was to gather detailed information related to reproductive health indicators such as fertility, infant and child mortality, factors affecting mortality, child health, family planning and STI/HIV/AIDS, among others. This survey collected information and data on women's knowledge regarding the prevention of breast and cervical cancers. This survey aimed to enrich the content of previous reproductive health surveys.

The results of this survey show increasing levels of fertility and improved quality of services during pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, the survey indicates a significant decrease in newborn and child mortality rates. Although women's knowledge on contraceptive methods is quite high, actual use of these methods among married women has decreased. This can be explained by the increase in the wanted total fertility rate. However, it is alarming to note a decrease in the knowledge on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and women's lack of knowledge about common gynecological cancers.
 

KIND OF DATA

Sample survey data [ssd]
 

UNITS OF ANALYSIS

Households,women of reproductive age 15-49 years , husbands.
 

Scope

NOTES

Adding to the findings of earlier RHSs, the current RHS covers a wide range of detailed information about knowledge, attitudes, and women's health status related to the following:

• Fertility, fertility preferences, and proximate determinants of fertility;

• Family planning;

• Infant and child mortality;

• Pregnancy, delivery, and antenatal care and post-partum counseling;

• Knowledge and attitudes about breast and cervical cancer;

• Child health and breastfeeding;

• Knowledge and attitudes about STIs and HIV/AIDS;

• Abortion;

• Adolescent reproductive health, and

• Domestic violence.
 

Coverage

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE

The RHS 2008 is nationally and regionally (5 regions - West, Central, East, South, Ulaanbaatar) representative and covers the whole of Mongolia.
 

UNIVERSE

All women between the ages of 15 and 49, inclusive, who slept in the household’s dwelling the night prior to interview, were eligible to be interviewed using the women’s interview schedule. Three husbands out of five married women interviewed in each PSU were interviewed using the husband’s interview schedule. Children above 5 years old.
 

Producers and Sponsors

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR(S)

OTHER PRODUCER(S)

FUNDING

OTHER ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Metadata Production

METADATA PRODUCED BY

DATE OF METADATA PRODUCTION

2010-09-30

DDI DOCUMENT VERSION

Version 1.0
 

DDI DOCUMENT ID

DDI-MNG-NSO-EN-RHS-2008-v1.0

Sampling

Sampling Procedure

The 2008 Mongolian Reproductive Health Survey (RHS) has a nationally representative sample of 8382 households, in which 9402 women of reproductive age 15-49 years and a subsample of 3362 husbands were interviewed.
Complete national representation is key for any sample to give results that are truly generalizable to an entire population. The current RHS used the same sampling techniques as the 1998 and 2003 surveys to achieve national representation with minimal sampling errors. The survey was conducted using a two-stage sampling method, which gives an equal probability of selection of households. As this is the same method used in previous surveys, this means that the data are fully comparable with the RHS 1998 and RHS 2008 data sets. The sample frame was comprised of the listings of households prepared annually by bags and horoo across the country. Activities, such as improving household listing, designed for improving the quality of data of the first-stage sample frame were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. Based on that the actual sampling was based on data from the first half of 2008.
It was determined from the experience of RHS 1998 and RHS 2003 and the similar surveys conducted in other countries that 25 to 30 households per cluster would provide an optimum representation; therefore, 30 households were selected for a cluster. It was decided select to 8,400 households (the lower limit was 7,560), which is 1.3 percent of all households in the country. Dividing this number by the 30 households by cluster gave the result of needing 280 primary sampling units (PSUs). Baghs and horoos were chosen as the primary sampling units (PSUs), resulting in a total of 1,676 PSUs. These PSUs were stratified implicitly by aimag and soum, and the selection of the 280 sample PSUs (or clusters) was done systematically with a random start and probability proportional to the number of registered households in each PSU. Households were then selected systematically with a random start within each PSU, using an interval directly proportional to the number of households in the PSU. The selected households were interviewed using the household questionnaire. All women between the ages of 15 and 49 (inclusive) who slept in the household's dwelling the night prior to the interview were eligible to be interviewed using the women's interview schedule. Three husbands out of every five married women were interviewed in each PSU using the husband's interview schedule.


Distribution of the RHS Household Sampling by Aimag,
Mongolia 1998, 2003, 2008

Number of households 2008
1998 2003 Number of
households Clusters

Arhangai 300 390 330 1-11
Bayan-Olgii 200 300 270 12-20
Bayanhongor 250 330 270 21-29
Bulgan 175 240 210 30-36
Gobi-Altai 175 240 210 37-43
Dornogobi 125 180 180 44-49
Dornod 200 240 270 50-58
Dundgobi 150 180 150 59-63
Zavhan 250 300 270 64-72
Ovorhangai 350 420 390 73-85
Omnogobi 125 180 180 86-91
Suhbaatar 150 210 180 92-97
Selenge 250 330 300 98-107
Tov 275 330 330 108-118
Uvs 249 300 240 119-126
Hovd 200 300 270 127-135
Hovsgol 325 450 420 136-149
Hentii 200 270 240 150-157
Darhan-Uul 250 270 300 158-167
Ulaanbaatar 1607 2610 3060 168-269
Orhon 149 300 300 270-279
Govisumber 50 30 30 280
Total 6005 8400 8400
 

Weighting

Sampling metod RHS2008 is a nation wide.

Data Collection

Data Collection Dates

Data Collection Mode

Face-to-face [f2f]

DATA COLLECTION NOTES

The interviewer training was organized from 4 September to 18 September 2008. Data collection activities started with the appointment of 10 teams with 7 members in each team. Each consisted of five interviewers: three to interview females, two to conduct male and household interviews, one reviewer, and one supervisor. When the data collection activities started, it was almost winter; therefore, to ensure safe travelling arrangements, it was planned to first cover the mountainous and forested western regions of the country, then the Gobi and central regions, and lastly Ulaanbaatar. Data collection started on 22 September and ended on 26 December 2008.
As with the previous RHS, reviewers were appointed for each team; reviewers and supervisors were able to review questionnaire responses daily and clarify them by going back to the households when necessary. Organizing the fieldwork this way ensured high-quality and reliable information. Data collection progress was reported weekly to survey headquarters at the NSO. A number of peoeple from various aimags, cities, soums, districts, baghs and horoos (around 560 people) provided great assistance and collaboration during the fieldwork operation.

Data Collectors

SUPERVISION

Each team consisted an editor and a supervisor. Editors were appointed for each team, so that editors and supervisors were able to edit questionnaires daily and correct them by going back to the households when necessary. This way of organizing fieldwork ensured high quality and reliable information.

Data Processing

Data Editing

The computer data entry work began on 15 October 2008 and was completed by 15 February 2009. Editing of the computer files was completed by the middle of March 2009. The "CSPro" computer software package created by Macro International, Inc. was used in data entry and processing. From March to May of 2009 output tables were produced. The RHS main report was prepared jointly by experts from the NSO, MoH, researchers working in agencies under the MoH, researchers from the PTRC of NUM, and other researchers.

Data Appraisal

Estimates of Sampling Error
Sampling errors are presented in Tables B.02 - B.16 of the report RHS 2008, for variables considered to be of major interest. Results are presented for the whole country, for urban and rural areas separately, for each of four education groups, for each of five regions, and for each of three age groups. For each variable, the type of statistic (percentage, mean or rate) and the base population are given in Table B.01. For each variable, Tables B.02 - B.16 present the value of the statistic (R), its standard error (SE), the number of cases (N) where relevant, the design effect (DEFT) where applicable, the relative standard error (SE/R), and the 95 percent confidence limits (R-2SE, R+2SE).
The confidence limits have the following interpretation. For the percentage of currently married women using the contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD), the overall value for the full sample is 22.3%, and its standard error is 0.6%. Therefore, to obtain the 95 percent confidence limits, one adds and subtracts twice the standard error to the sample estimate, which means that there is a high probability (95 percent) the true percentage currently using the IUD is between 21.1% and 23.5%.
The relative standard errors for most estimates for the country as a whole are small, except for estimates of very small percentages. The magnitude of the error increases as estimates for sub-populations such as geographical areas are considered. For the variable IUD, for instance, the relative standard error (as a percentage of the estimated parameter) for the whole country and for urban and rural areas is 2.7 percent, 4.1 percent, and 4.0 percent, respectively. For the five regions, the relative standard error of the variable IUD varies between 5.4 percent and 10.8 percent.
Special mention should be made of the sampling errors for rates. The denominators are exposure-years, and the numerators are either births or deaths in the population under consideration during the indicated period of time.
It should be noted that the survey indicates, with a 95 percent level of confidence, that the TFR for the 3-year period prior to the survey lay between 3.046 and 3.31 children per woman, and that the infant mortality rate for the 3-year period prior to the survey lay between 15.7 and 28.3 per thousand births. The differences between the survey results and registration statistics are not due to sampling variability.

Table B.01 List of Selected Variables for Sampling Error, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.02 Sampling Error - National Sample, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.03 Sampling Error - Urban Areas, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.04 Sampling Error - Rural Areas, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.05 Sampling Error - Primary or Less, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.06 Sampling Error - Incomplete Secondary, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.07 Sampling Error - Complete Secondary, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.08 Sampling Error - More than Secondary, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.09 Sampling Error - Central Region, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.10 Sampling Error - East Region, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.11 Sampling Error - West Region, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.12 Sampling Error - South Region, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.13 Sampling Error - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.14 Sampling Error - Age 15-24, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.15 Sampling Error - Age 25-34, Mongolia, 2008
Table B.16 Sampling Error - Age 35-49, Mongolia, 2008