Comparative international survey data on fertility, family planning, and maternal and child health from 47 countries now are available free on the World WideWeb.
Of particular interest to demographers, epidemiologists and health researchers, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, are a primary source of information on the health and reproductive behavior of women throughout Africa, the Near East, Asia and Latin America.
For each country, several data sets are available, including individual women's data (from reproduction, immunization and health of children to marriage and women's work status), household data, and in many countries male or husband's data. Some surveys also include data on natural family planning, social marketing, sterilization, pill compliance, woman's employment, maternal mortality, causes of death and AIDS.
The standardized format of the surveys allows researchers to make comparisons among different countries and to estimate trends over time.
For more information or to download the DHS data sets, visit the Macro International web site at http://www.macroint. com/dhs/dhsarch.html . The standard file documentation can be downloaded from this site or a printed copy is available at the Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER) data archive in Caldwell Hall.
The files are available in three formats. To discuss issues related to using DHS data, or help in downloading or working with these files, contact Cara Olsen, Office of Statistical Consulting, 255-1926, or csh6@cornell.edu