Table 2.
Birth and death registration questions in Demographic and Health, and Multiple Indicator Cluster and EN-INDEPTH surveys
| Placement in questionnaire | Target | Coding of responses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHS-7 and DHS-8 standard birth and death registration questions | |||
| Does (name) have a birth certificate? If no, probe: Has (name)'s birth ever been registered with the civil authority? | Household roster | 0-4 year olds currently alive | 1 = has certificate, 2 = registered, 3 = neither, 4 = don’t know |
| Question(s) on death registration | None | - | - |
| MICS6 birth and death registration questions | |||
| Does (name) have a birth certificate? If yes, ask: May I see it? | Questionnaire for children under five administered to mothers/ caretaker | 0-4 year olds currently alive | 1 = yes, seen; 2 = yes, not seen; 3 = no; 4 = don’t know |
| If no or don’t know to above question: Has (name)’s birth been registered with the civil authorities?a | Questionnaire for children under five administered to mothers/ caretaker | 0-4 year olds currently alive | 1 = yes, 2 = no, 3 = don’t know |
| If no or don’t know to above question: ‘Do you know how to register (name)’s birth?’ | Questionnaire for children under five administered to mothers/ caretaker | 0-4 year olds currently alive | 1 = yes, 2 = no |
| Question(s) on death registration | None | - | - |
| EN-INDEPTH survey birth and death registration questions | |||
| Does (name/this baby) have a birth certificate?a If yes, ask: May I see it? | Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Subset of livebirths and all stillbirths since 1st January 2012 | 1 = yes, seen; 2 = yes, not seen; 3 = no; 4 = don’t know |
| Has (name/this baby)'s birth been registered with the civil authorities?a | Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Livebirths and stillbirths in last 5 years whose mother’s answered ‘No’ or ‘Don't know’ to previous question | 1 = yes, 2 = no, 3 = don’t know |
| At which age was (name/this baby) registered? | Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Livebirths and stillbirths in last 5 years | 1 = weeks if less than 4 weeks, 2 = months if less than 2 years, 3 = years if 2 years or more, 4 = don’t know |
| Specify number of weeks, months or years as appropriate | Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Livebirths and stillbirths in last 5 years | Integer |
|
I am interested in knowing about the main reasons why you have not registered (name). I will now read some possible reasons. Please let me know if any apply: (i) Birth registration is not a legal requirement. (ii) There is not enough money to pay the cost of registering (name). (iii) The distance to the registration centre is far. (iv) The registration process is too complicated to understand. (v) I am unable to produce the full set of documents required to register (name). (vi) The father of (name) is required to be present but he is unable or unwilling to attend. (vii) The name of the child is required but it has not yet been given by the family. (viii) Are there other reasons why you did not register (name) that have not already been mentioned? |
Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Livebirths in last 5 years surviving the neonatal period | For each category: 1 = yes, 2 = no; plus free text box to specify for ‘other reasons’ |
| Does (name/this baby) have a death certificate? If yes, ask: ‘May I see it?’ | Section 4 of the women’s questionnaire | Neonatal deaths and stillbirths in last 5 years only | 1 = yes, seen; 2 = yes, not seen; 3 = no; 4 = don’t know |
aThese questions use the standard questions and responses for UNICEF’s MICs surveys, except if the baby was stillborn or died before being named the baby was referred to as ‘this baby’. A positive response to either of these questions was taken to indicate that birth registration had occurred.