Table 3.
MLSFH survey content and other study components, by year
| MLSFH round | Measurements |
|---|---|
| All MLSFH rounds | Survey data: Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, social and economic context, linkages with spouse data, vital status and migration/absence at time of MLSFH survey. Geocoded respondent residences since 2004; regional market and rainfall data |
| MLSFH 1 (1998) | Survey data: Childbearing and fertility desires; attitudes about and use of family planning methods; conversational networks about family planning and HIV/AIDS (see Appendix A6.1); gender attitudes and female autonomy; HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and risk perceptions; sexual behaviours and HIV risk reduction strategies |
| MLSFH 2 (2001) | Survey data: Mostly identical to MLSFH 1 (1998), plus social participation, marriage and sexual partnership histories (see Appendix A6.4). |
| MLSFH 3 (2004) | Survey data: Similar to MLSFH 2 (2001), plus: household rosters with data on household membership and health/schooling/morbidity and marital status of household members; measures of religious activities/affiliations; social capital and basic data on transfer and exchange networks; time use; household expenditures on health and schooling; AIDS-related stigma. No longer included: fertility histories and childbearing desires; detailed data about use of and attitudes to family planning methods |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichomonas infections (see Appendix A3.1) | |
| Other: Randomized experimental design offering financial incentives for learning HIV status (see Appendix A3.1) | |
| MLSFH 4 (2006) | Survey data: Similar to MLSFH 3, plus: SF-12 self-reported health questionnaire; probabilistic expectations about health and HIV-risks (see Appendix A6.3); subjective discount rate; HIV testing history; audio-CASI interview for sensitive behaviours; intergenerational transfers and transfers with community members (see Appendix A6.2); mortality of household/family members. No longer included were conversational networks about family planning and religion |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV (see Appendix A3.2) | |
| Other: Initiation of MLSFH Incentive Study, a randomized experiment offering financial incentives for maintaining HIV-negative status (see Appendix A6.6) | |
| MLSFH Incentive Study 2006–07 | Survey data: Four rounds of sexual diaries providing detailed day-to-day data on sexual behaviours during a 9-day period prior to the interview (see Appendix A6.6) |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV in 2007 (after 3rd round of sexual diary collection) | |
| MLSFH 4 migration follow-up (2007) | Migration follow-up: with all ever-interviewed MLSFH respondents not interviewed during MLSFH 4 (2006) due to migration and/or temporary absence (see Appendix A2.2) |
| Survey data: Similar to MLSFH 4, plus detailed questions about migration history and migration reasons | |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV (see Appendix A3.3) | |
| MLSFH 5 (2008) | Survey data: Human capital, including schooling, self-reported SF-12 questionnaire module on physical and mental health, subjective well-being; household production and consumption, including standard of living, household assets, time use, health expenditure; social capital, including intergenerational/intrafamilial transfers and help relationships, transfer relationships with community members, participation in community associations; expectations, risk perceptions and attitudes, including probabilistic expectations about HIV risks and survival (see Appendix A6.3 and AIDS-related attitudes and knowledge; biographic information, including marriage and partnership histories (see Appendix A6.4), extra- and pre-marital relationships, partner characteristics. No longer included: conversational networks about AIDS |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV (see Appendix A3.3) | |
| MLSFH Biomarker Study (2009) | Focused on selected subset of MLSFH respondents residing in Balaka (N = 982) and collected biomarkers of inflammation, cardiovascular risks, metabolic processes and organ function (see Appendix A6.7) |
| Survey data: Health; illnesses and pain experienced by respondent, and household members; illnesses experienced by family members; water source; diet/nutrition | |
| Biomarkers: Biomarkers for wide-range CRP, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, total protein, urea, albumin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, random blood glucose and HbA1c, collected using the LabAnywhere (previously Demecal) System (LabAnywhere, Haarlem, The Netherlands)5 | |
| Other: Height, weight and body mass index (BMI) | |
| MLSFH 6 (2010) | Survey data: Same as MLSFH 5 (2008). |
| MLSFH 7 (2012) | Follow-up survey focused on MLSFH mature adults aged 45 and older focused on mental heath, cognition and well-being (see Appendix A6.8) |
| Survey data: Similar to MLSFH 6 (2010), plus measures of depression and anxiety, measures of spatial/temporal orientation and language, measures of memory/recall and executive functioning, alcohol consumption | |
| Biomarkers: Testing and counselling for HIV (see Appendix A3.3) | |
| Other: Grip strength (both hands), height, weight and BMI | |
| MLSFH qualitative and related contextual data | Qualitative interviews on sexual attitudes and behaviours; qualitative data on HTC, HIV risks and investments in children; ethnographic studies of public conversations about AIDS in informal settings; detailed village characteristics and local infrastructure data; GPS data for all respondents; condom prices and local market prices of key crops and commodities |