Omissions of Births in DHS Birth Histories in Sub-Saharan Africa: Measurement and Determinants

Bruno D. Schoumaker, Université Catholique de Louvain

One of the most commonly cited limitations of birth histories in DHS is that of birth displacement, linked to the fact that some interviewers can change the birth dates of certain children to avoid having to administer the lengthy health module. Omissions is another common limitation of birth histories, which may also result from the desire to avoid the health module. While birth displacement has been well documented, little work has been done to identify and quantify omissions of births in DHS and to identify factors that account for variations of omissions across surveys. In this paper, we measure omissions of recent births in DHS in sub-Saharan Africa in a systematic way, and try to identify their determinants. We notably show that omissions are widespread, and that some survey design variables (number of questions, length of reference period of the health module) have a strong impact on under-reporting of births.