Table 1 Summary of Data Collection Methods Used for the Current Study

1999–2000

Retrospective pregnancy history including ages at death of live births

Households in the Primary Health Care Service Area of HAS

3,427 Women

10% sample of all reproductive age women in the Primary Health Care Service Area

2000

Household knowledge, practices and coverage survey

Households in the Primary Health Care Service Area of HAS and in the remainder of the UCS District

• 1,310 household heads

• 1,295 women of reproductive age

• 945 mothers/guardians of at least one child 0–59 months of age

• 1,363 men 15–54 years of age

Sample reflective of the size of the respective populations in each of the Functional Units, with oversampling of the mountainous areas

2000

Quality of health services survey:

• Patient exit interviews

• Household interviews

• Observations of patient encounters in the health facilities

• Health staff interviews

• Focus group discussions with Health Agents

Hospital and Primary Health Care Service Area of HAS

108 exit interviews 190 household interviews 6 focus group discussions with 42 health agents

• Exit interviews with caretakers following a child health visit at a health facility

• Exit interviews with women visiting a health facility for prenatal care or family planning

• Households and Health Agents were not randomly selected

2000

Assessment of hospital admission rates by Functional Unit (by analyzing data from the health information at HAS)

HAS hospital records for all admissions during the year 1999 were reviewed

1,210 hospital records

10% random sample

2003

Assessment of factors facilitating or obstructing the use of prenatal care (by analyzing data from the health information at HAS)

HAS Functional Unit

240 women who were pregnant in the year 2002

• 50 women were selected randomly from the mountainous areas

• 50 women were selected randomly from the plains