Hello Rachel,

We see that no one has replied to your post, so in case a reply may also still be helpful to you or others:
It is true that the question asked of women: "Do you usually work at home or away from home" was dropped from the DHS6 Model Questionnaires. That it continued to be asked in the 2013 NDHS was likely the choice of our colleagues in Nigeria. The question was introduced to DHS Model Questionnaires in DHS3, and retained in DHS3-DHS5.

Regarding why it is not included in DHS6 or DHS7 Model Questionnaires is similar to the rationale for dropping other questions that dropped: the result of a continual balancing act between making room for new questions while retaining the most widely used questions (the latter often determined by whether they feed into indicators of international interest). That being said, questions may be included that are specifically of national interest; every survey undergoes a questionnaire review process in country, with all major stakeholders, and the final questionnaires that are fielded are the result of those negotiations.

The DHS questionnaires have nearly doubled in size over the lifespan of the DHS project as a result of the program responding to data needs. We regret that the Urban Institute may not be able to have the variable available for data analysis for surveys in which it would be useful to the UI.

The best way to determine whether the data have other information you could use would be to read the questionnaires they are printed as an appendix in final reports.

Thank you for providing the context of your question.