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How is the "head of household" determined? [message #3382] Tue, 02 December 2014 13:43 Go to next message
vega25 is currently offline  vega25
Messages: 14
Registered: April 2014
Location: United States
Member
Hi, I had a somewhat basic question:

How is the 'head of household' identified or determined in the DHS?

The household questionnaire, for example in the Bangladesh DHS of 2011, has a household roster right at the outset, but the question appears to be posed as "relationship to the head of the household" for all the individuals, meaning the head of the household has already been determined at this stage.

The 'identification' section that precedes the actual questions has a name of the household head field. So does that mean that the person in the household who is interviewed is first asked who the head of the household is, before starting the rest of the questionnaire? Or is that page filled up only later, and the household roster filled up first?

I understand that practices may differ and be imprecise, but I'd be keen to know how it is done in Bangladesh.

Thank you very much!
Re: How is the "head of household" determined? [message #3388 is a reply to message #3382] Wed, 03 December 2014 14:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Sarah-DHS is currently offline  Sarah-DHS
Messages: 54
Registered: February 2013
Senior Member
Dear Vega25,

Here is a response from Survey Manager, Sri Poedjastoeti:

To complete the Household Questionnaire, the interviewer will need to find a suitable respondent. Any adult member of the household who is capable of providing information needed to fill in the Household Questionnaire can serve as the respondent. Generally a single individual in the household may be able to provide the information needed to complete the household questionnaire. However, as appropriate, other members of the household may be consulted for specific information.

The first step in completing the household roster is to ask the household respondents to list all persons who usually live in the household and any visitors. The person who is identified as the head of the household has to be someone who usually lives in the household. This person may be acknowledged as the head on the basis of age (older), sex (generally, but not necessarily, male), economic status (main provider), or some other reason. It is up to the respondent to define who heads the household.

Please let us know if this does not answer your question.
Thank you,
Sarah-DHS
Re: How is the "head of household" determined? [message #3495 is a reply to message #3388] Wed, 17 December 2014 18:34 Go to previous message
vega25 is currently offline  vega25
Messages: 14
Registered: April 2014
Location: United States
Member
This answered my question perfectly!

Thank you Sri, and Sarah!
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