Interviewer instructions
Record the number of months [NAME] was away for out of the last 12 months. For example if the interview is
conducted in the beginning of March 2008, then you should ask how many months from March 2007 to february 2008 [NAME] was ABSENT from the household. Do not confuse this with being present in the household, you should ask the number of months [NAME] was NOT there.
The time spent, does not need to be consecutive, it is CUMMULATIVE time that matters. You should add up all the months that [NAME] slept and ate in the dwelling and assess whether it is under or above 6 months. Continuing with the same example as above, imagine [NAME] moved into the household in beginning of May 2007 and then stayed till September 2007 (5 months). He then left the household in October 2007, but returned for the whole of January and february 2008. To summarise, [NAME] was:
- Absent from the household in March, April, October, November, December (5 months).
-Present in the household in May, June, July, August, September, January, February (7 months).
Thus we would choose option 2 “away for 6 months or less”.
Another example is someone who visits the household every weekend of the year. This means they are absent for 5 out of every 7 days in the year, which adds up to be more than 6 months. Someone who visits 3 out of 7 days is absent for more than 6 months, but someone who visits for 4 out of 7 days is absent for less than 6 months.
