Volume 16 - Article 8 | Pages 219–248  

Evaluation of a village-informant driven demographic surveillance system in Karonga, Northern Malawi

By Andreas Jahn, Amelia C Crampin, Judith R. Glynn, Venance Mwinuka, Elenaus Mwaiyeghele, Johnbosco Mwafilaso, Keith Branson, Nuala McGrath, Paul EM Fine, Basia Zaba

Abstract

This paper describes and evaluates the first demographic surveillance system (DSS) in Malawi, covering a rural population of 30,000. Unlike others, the Karonga DSS relies on trained village informants using formatted registers for the primary notification of vital events and migrations.
Seven project enumerators subsequently collect detailed data on events notified by the village informants, using stringent identification procedures for households and individuals. Internal movements are traced systematically to augment event registration and data quality. Continuous evaluation of data collection is built into the methods. A re-census conducted after 2 years indicated that the routine system had registered 97% of 1,588 births, 99% of 521 deaths and 92% of 13,168 movements.

Author's Affiliation

• Andreas Jahn - Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU), Malawi EMAIL
• Amelia C Crampin - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom EMAIL
• Judith R. Glynn - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom EMAIL
• Venance Mwinuka - Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU), Malawi EMAIL
• Elenaus Mwaiyeghele - Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU), Malawi EMAIL
• Johnbosco Mwafilaso - Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU), Malawi EMAIL
• Keith Branson - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom EMAIL
• Nuala McGrath - University of Southampton, United Kingdom EMAIL
• Paul EM Fine - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom EMAIL
• Basia Zaba - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom EMAIL

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