| Sick child observation duration [message #10078] |
Wed, 22 June 2016 23:04  |
hannah.leslie
Messages: 11
Registered: September 2015
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Member |
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Dear DHS,
I am a bit confused by the time variables included in the sick child observation / exit datasets (all countries with these observations) and have two questions for clarification.
I understand from the survey that there is the start of the observation, the end of the consult, and the end of the observation after the observer has questioned the provider regarding diagnosis and treatment. However, in the 2007 - 2010 recoded datasets (eg, KESR10SC.DTA), the variable labeled 'time sick child consult ended' (517c) is almost always later than the value in the variable labeled 'time observation interview ended' (c517b), when I would expect the opposite. Comparing the raw data to the recoded data for the 2010 Kenya SPA, it seems that that variables oc117h and oc117m (hour and minute consult ended) are in fact equivalent to the values in c517b, labeled time observation interview ended in the recode.
Question 1: What variable should we use, 517b or 517c, to correctly estimate the actual length of the clinical encounter? It seems like 517b based on the data, but 517c based on the labels.
In the post-2012 raw datasets, we only get two times for the observation, start and end (eg, c102h c102m, oc117h oc117m in MWSC6KFLSP.DTA). It appears that observers were asked to note the time the consult ended, but the actual space on the survey to write this down occurs after the post-consult questions to the provider. Given that, my second question is, can the duration that we can calculate from these data be interpreted as the time the provider spent doing the consultation?
In other words, if we wanted to compare duration of sick child consults between the Kenya 2010 SPA and the Malawi 2012 SPA, which quantity of the two that can be calculated from the Kenya data is comparable to what can be calculated from Malawi, or is such a comparison not supported by the data?
Thank you for your assistance!
Hannah
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| Re: Sick child observation duration [message #10131 is a reply to message #10078] |
Wed, 29 June 2016 16:57  |
Liz-DHS
Messages: 1516
Registered: February 2013
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Senior Member |
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Dear User,
Here is a response from Jeanne Cushing, Data processing expert:
Quote:
It depends on how the training is done - my guess is that the end of the observation is the time when the client leaves the provider's presence - and it is then that the questions re dx and tx are completed with the interviewer talking with the provider - all of the other parts of the observation do not allow communication between the interviewer and either the provider or the client. So that the time of the observation ending (517b) would be the end of the 'observation' while the time of the 'consult ending' would be when the interviewer has finished consulting with the provider. We've taken this to the designer of the questionnaire and the person who heads the SPA field efforts to get this opinion of which time to use.
Thank you for your post.
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| Re: Sick child observation duration [message #10241 is a reply to message #10188] |
Tue, 12 July 2016 12:35 |
Liz-DHS
Messages: 1516
Registered: February 2013
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Senior Member |
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Dear Hannah,
Ater speaking further with Jeanne Cushing,
Her unserstanding:
Quote:
The diagnosis and treatment section is completed after the client has left.
Let us know if you have additional questions.
Thank you!
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