Social Indicator Survey 2011-2012
Lao PDR, 2011 - 2012
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LAO_2011_MICS-DHS_v01_M
Social Indicator Survey 2011-2012
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Lao PDR | LAO |
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey - Round 4 [hh/mics-4]
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Round 4 (MICS4) is the forth round of MICS surveys, previously conducted around 1995 (MICS1), 2000 (MICS2), and 2005-2007 (MICS3). MICS was originally developed to support countries measure progress towards an internationally agreed set of goals that emerged from the 1990 World Summit for Children.
The fourth round of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS4) is scheduled for 2009-2011 and survey results are expected to be available from 2010 onwards. MICS4 data allow countries to better monitor progress toward national goals and global commitments, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the target year 2015 approaches.
Information on more than 20 of the MDG indicators is being collected through MICS4, offering one of the largest single sources of data for MDG monitoring. MICS4 continues to address emerging issues and new areas of interest, with validated, standard methodologies in collecting relevant data. It also helps countries capture rapid changes in key indicators.
The LSIS 2011-12 was undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Planning and Investment (Lao Statistics Bureau) in collaboration with other line ministries. UNICEF and UNFPA were the primary agencies giving financial and technical assistance to support the survey. In addition, USAID, AusAID, LuxGov, WHO, UNDP, SDC, JICA and WFP provided financial and technical input to the implementation of the LSIS.
The main purposes of LSIS are to allow continued monitoring of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to serve as a baseline for the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (7th NSEDP). The survey results can also be used by the Government and development partners to prepare policies, strategies and planning to improve the social environment of people in Lao PDR, especially women and men of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) and children age under five. In addition, the survey provides key sources and references for researchers and academics to conduct further analysis and research studies in specific areas using LSIS data.
Sample survey data [ssd]
- individuals
- households
Version
- v01: Edited, anonymous datasets for public distribution.
Scope
The scope of the Lao Social Indicator Survey 2011-12 includes:
- Household: household listing form, education, water and sanitation, household characteristics, insecticide-treated nets, child discipline and salt iodization.
- Women: woman's background, access to mass media and use of information/communication technology, child mortality with birth history, desire for last birth, maternal and newborn health, post-natal health checks, illness symptoms, contraception, unmet need, attitudes towards domestic violence, marriage/union, sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS, and maternal mortality.
- Children: child's age, birth registration, early childhood development, breastfeeding, care of illness, malaria, immunization and anthropometry.
- Men: man's background, access to mass media and use of information/communication technology, contraception, attitudes toward domestic violence, marriage and sexual activity, and HIV/AIDS.
Coverage
National
The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged between 15-49 years, all children under 5 living in the household, and all men aged 15-49 years.
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Health | |
| Lao Statistics Bureau | Ministry of Planning and Investment |
| United Nations Children’s Fund |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| United Nations Children’s Fund | Financial and technical support |
| United Nations Population Fund | Financial and technical support |
| Luxembourg Government | Financial and technical support |
| United States Agency for International Development | Financial and technical support |
| Australian Agency for International Development | Financial and technical support |
| Swiss Development Cooperation | Financial and technical support |
| United Nations Development Programme | Financial and technical support |
| World Health Organization | Financial and technical support |
| Japan International Cooperation Agency | Financial and technical support |
| Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Financial and technical support |
| World Food Programme | Financial and technical support |
Sampling
The primary objective of the sample design for the 2011-12 Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS) was to produce statistically reliable estimates of most indicators, at the national level, for urban and rural areas, and for each of the 17 provinces of the country. The survey was designed to provide information on fertility and early childhood mortality, family planning, reproductive and child health, nutrition, water and sanitation, child protection, child development and education, use of mass media and information technology, knowledge and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS, and adult and maternal mortality. All women age 15-49 who were usual residents of the selected households were eligible for the survey. A male survey was also conducted in half of the households. All men aged 15-49 who were usual residents of every second household visited by the field team were eligible for the male survey.
The sizes of the provinces vary greatly, ranging from 16,000 to 140,000 households and this posed a challenge for the sample design. A multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling approach was used for the selection of the survey sample. Urban areas, rural areas with roads, and rural areas without roads in each of the 17 provinces were defined as the sampling strata.
The sampling frame for this survey consisted of all villages in the country, arranged by province, with appropriate size estimates (number of households) and other relevant information about each village. The list of villages is updated each year, with the most recent update prior to the design in December 2009.
For the calculation of the sample size, the key indicator used was the contraceptive prevalence rate (modern method).Various methods were available for allocating the sample to the different provinces. At one extreme is the method of equal allocation used in both the 2005 LRHS and the 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), but this method is inefficient for producing national estimates. At the other extreme is the method of proportional allocation, where the share of the total sample that a province gets depends on its size. This method is good for producing national estimates, but not for producing provincial estimates as the sampling error will be large in the smaller provinces where the sample size is small. As a compromise the allocation was based on the square root of the size of each province, with a minimum of 1,000 households selected in each province and a maximum of 1,500 households.
After arriving at the sample size allocation for each province the number of villages selected per province was calculated using a fixed 'take' of 20 households per village. Once the number of villages for a province was determined, the villages (PSUs) were distributed to the urban, rural with road and rural without road domains, in proportion with the number of households in each domain.
The selection of the villages was performed by first ordering the list of villages according to the three types of locality (urban, rural with road, rural without road). Villages were selected with probability proportional to the number of households in the village, based on a fixed interval of selection and a random start chosen between 0 and the sampling interval.
Since the sampling frame was not up-to-date, a new listing of households was conducted in all the sample enumeration areas prior to the selection of households. For this purpose, teams were formed to visit each enumeration area and to list the occupied households. The listing operation took place from November 2010 to early January 2011 with 70 operators covering all 999 enumeration areas. In each province there were two teams each consisting of a lister and a mapper, except in Champasack, where three teams were assigned.
Lists of households for each enumeration area were prepared by the listing teams in the field. The households were then sequentially numbered from 1 to n (the total number of households in each enumeration area) at the Surveys Division of the Lao Statistics Bureau, where the selection of 20 households in each enumeration area was carried out using a systematic selection procedure beginning from a random start.
The sampling procedures are more fully described in "Lao PDR Social Indicator Survey 2011-2012 - Final Report" pp.292-295.
Of the 19,960 households selected for inclusion in the LSIS, 19,018 were found to be occupied. Of these, 18,843 were successfully interviewed, yielding a household response rate of 99 percent. In the interviewed households, 23,937 women age 15-49 years were identified. Of these, 22,476 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 94 percent within interviewed households. In addition, 11,166 men age 15-49 years were listed in the household questionnaire and eligible for individual interview. Questionnaires were completed for 9,951 men, which corresponds to a response rate of 89 percent within interviewed households. There were 11,258 children age fewer than five listed in the household questionnaire. Questionnaires were completed for 11,067 of these children, which corresponds to a response rate of 98 percent within interviewed households. Overall response rates of 93, 88, and 97 percent were calculated for the women, men and under-five interviewed, respectively.
Household response rates are similar across provinces and areas of residence (urban, rural areas with road access and rural areas without road access). Women's response rates are also similar across areas of residence. However, the women's response rate is lower in Vientiane Capital and Savannakhet than in other provinces. Likewise, it is found out that the response rates of men in Savannakhet and Attapeu are lower than others. The main reason for non-response of these individuals is the failure to find these women and men despite several visits to the households. It is observed that, especially in the case of men, most go to neighbouring countries or other provinces in Lao PDR for work and for further education.
The LSIS sample is not self-weighted. By allocating numbers of households to each of the provinces non-proportionally, different sampling fractions were used in each province since the size of the provinces varied. For this reason, sample weights were calculated and used in the subsequent analyses of the survey data. The sampling strata used in the calculation of the weights were the 17 provinces.
The major component of the weight is the reciprocal of the sampling fraction employed in selecting the number of sample households in that particular sampling stratum (h) and PSU (i).
A second component in the calculation of sample weights takes into account the level of non-response for the household and individual interviews. The adjustment for household non-response is equal to the inverse value of:
RRh = Number of interviewed households in stratum h/Number of occupied households listed in stratum h
The non-response adjustment factors for women's, men's and under-5's questionnaires are applied to the adjusted household weights. Numbers of eligible women, men and under-5 children were obtained from the roster of household members in the Household Questionnaire for households where interviews were completed.
The sample weights for the households were calculated by multiplying by 1/RRh for each enumeration area. These weights were then standardized (or normalized); one purpose of this is to make the weighted sum of the interviewed sample units equal the total sample size at the national level. Normalization is performed by multiplying the sample weights by a constant factor equal to the unweighted number of households at the national level divided by the weighted total number of households (using the un-normalized sample weights). A similar standardization procedure was followed in obtaining standardized weights for the women's and under-5's questionnaires. Adjusted (normalized) weights varied between 0.141 and 3.841 in the 998 sample enumeration areas (villages).
Sample weights were appended to all data sets and analyses were performed by weighting each household, woman, man or under-5 with these sample weights.
Survey instrument
The questionnaires for the Generic MICS were structured questionnaires based on the MICS4 model questionnaire with some modifications and additions. Household questionnaires were administered in each household, which collected various information on household members including sex, age and relationship. The household questionnaire includes household listing form, education, water and sanitation, household characteristics, insecticide-treated nets, child discipline and salt iodization.
In addition to a household questionnaire, questionnaires were administered in each household for women age 15-49, children under age five and men age 15-49. For children, the questionnaire was administered to the mother or primary caretaker of the child.
The women's questionnaire includes woman's background, access to mass media and use of information/communication technology, child mortality with birth history, desire for last birth, maternal and newborn health, post-natal health checks, illness symptoms, contraception, unmet need, attitudes towards domestic violence, marriage/union, sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS, and maternal mortality.
The children's questionnaire includes child's age, birth registration, early childhood development, breastfeeding, care of illness, malaria, immunization and anthropometry.
The men's questionnaire includes man's background, access to mass media and use of information/communication technology, contraception, attitudes toward domestic violence, marriage and sexual activity, and HIV/AIDS.
The LSIS questionnaires are based on the UNICEF MICS4 model questionnaires with components added from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), for example, the components the full birth history and the maternal mortality module and interviewing a subsample of men. The original questionnaires were designed in English, then translated into the Lao language and were pre-tested in three villages in Luangprabang in January 2011. Based on the results of the pre-test, modifications were made to the wording and translation of the questionnaires.
In addition to the administration of questionnaires, fieldwork teams tested the salt used for cooking in the households for inclusion of iodine, and measured the weight and height of children age under 5 years.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-09-27 | 2011-10-05 | First phase |
| 2011-10-15 | 2012-02-28 | Second phase |
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Health | |
| Lao Statistics Bureau | Ministry of Planning and Investment |
There is one supervisor for each of the 20 data collection teams in the field.
Training for the fieldwork was conducted for 17 working days from 5 to 23 September 2011. Training included lectures on interviewing techniques and the contents of the questionnaires, and mock interviews between trainees to gain practice in asking questions. Towards the end of the training period, trainees spent two days in practice interviewing in 20 villages in Vientiane Province. The training was mainly implemented by seven LSIS trainers from MoH and LSB central offices who had been trained earlier in the LSIS Training of Trainers/Pretest. Furthermore, the training was technically supported by a Regional MICS Coordinator from UNICEF and a survey expert from ICF International on the Demographic and Health Surveys project.
The data were collected by 20 teams; each was comprised of four interviewers, one editor, one measurer and a supervisor. All field staff are from central and provincial offices of the MoH and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). Fieldwork was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, all 20 teams, consisting of 140 enumerators, kicked off the field data collection at 75 selected enumeration areas in Vientiane Capital on 27 September 2011. Field data collection in the capital lasted nine days on average. During the first phase of data collection, all teams were monitored by the seven LSIS trainers as well as the expert from ICF International and LSIS Survey Coordinator. Towards the end of the first phase, the LSIS trainers conducted feedback sessions with all 20 teams individually.
After the first phase of field data collection, the enumerators from provincial offices went back to their provinces and contacted the district level authorities and heads of villages concerned. The enumerators from central offices collected all survey materials, equipment and necessary official documents from MoH and MPI. Each survey team was provided with two vehicles for field data collection in the provinces. The field data collection in the provinces began on 15 October 2011 and concluded at the end of February 2012.
Data processing
Data processing began simultaneously with data collection in October 2011 and was completed on 15 March 2012. Data were entered using CSPro software. The data were entered on 14 microcomputers and carried out by 14 data entry operators temporarily recruited and trained by four data entry supervisors from the Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB). In order to ensure quality control, all questionnaires were double entered and internal consistency checks were performed. Procedures and standard programmes developed under the global MICS4 programme and adapted to the LSIS questionnaire by the LSB in collaboration with a data processing expert from ICF International were used throughout. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 19, and the model syntax and tabulation plans developed by UNICEF and ICF International were used for this purpose.
Data appraisal
Sampling errors are a measure of the variability between the estimates from all possible samples. The extent of variability is not known exactly, but can be estimated statistically from the survey data.
The following sampling error measures for each of the selected indicators are presented in this appendix:
- Standard error (se): Sampling errors are usually measured in terms of standard errors for particular indicators (means, proportions etc). Standard error is the square root of the variance of the estimate. The Taylor linearization method is used for the estimation of standard errors.
- Coefficient of variation (se/r) is the ratio of the standard error to the value of the indicator, and is a measure of the relative sampling error.
- Design effect (deff) is the ratio of the actual variance of an indicator, under the sampling method used in the survey, to the variance calculated under the assumption of simple random sampling. The square root of the design effect (deft) is used to show the efficiency of the sample design in relation to the precision. A deft value of 1.0 indicates that the sample design is as efficient as a simple random sample, while a deft value above 1.0 indicates an increase in the standard error due to the use of a more complex sample design.
- Confidence limits are calculated to show the interval within which the true value for the population can be reasonably assumed to fall, with a specified level of confidence. For any given statistic calculated from the survey, the value of that statistic will fall within a range of plus or minus two times the standard error (r + 2.se or r - 2.se) of the statistic in 95 percent of all possible samples of identical size and design.
Sampling errors for adult and maternal mortality were calculated using a custom program written using SAS version 9.2. The calculation of all other sampling errors presented in the report was done using SPSS Version 19 Complex Samples module. The results are shown in the tables that follow. In addition to the sampling error measures described above, the tables also include weighted and unweighted counts of denominators for each indicator.
Sampling errors are calculated for indicators of primary interest, for the national level, for urban areas, rural areas, rural areas with road access, rural areas without road access, for North, Central, and South regions, and for each of the 17 provinces, including Vientiane Capital. Two of the selected indicators are based on households, five are based on household members, 34 are based on women, 10 are based on men and 19 are based on children under five years of age. All indicators presented here are in the form of proportions.
A series of data quality tables are available to review the quality of the data and include the following:
- Age distribution of the household population
- Age distribution of eligible and interviewed women
- Age distribution of eligible and interviewed men
- Age distribution of children under 5 in household and children under 5 questionnaires
- Women’s completion rates by socio-economic characteristics of households
- Men’s completion rates by socio-economic characteristics of households
- Completion rates for under-5 questionnaires by socio-economic characteristics of households
- Completeness of reporting
- Completeness of information for anthropometric indicators
- Heaping in anthropometric measurements
- Observation of bednets
- Observation of women’s health cards
- Observation of under-5s birth certificates
- Observation of vaccination cards
- Presence of mother in the household and the person interviewed for the under-5 questionnaire
- Selection of children age 2–14 years for the child discipline module
- School attendance by single age
- Sex ratio at birth among children ever born and living
- Births by calendar year
- Reporting of age at death in days
- Reporting of age at death in months
- Completeness of information on siblings
- Sibship size and sex ratio of siblings
The results of each of these data quality tables are shown in appendix D in document "Lao PDR Social Indicator Survey 2011-2012 - Final Report" pp.366-383.
Data Access
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childinfo | UNICEF | http://www.childinfo.org/mics4_surveys.html | mics@unicef.org |
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | Users of the data agree to keep confidential all data contained in these datasets and to make no attempt to identify, trace or contact any individual whose data is included in these datasets. |
Survey datasets are distributed at no cost for legitimate research, with the condition that we receive a description of the objectives of any research project that will be using the data prior to authorizing their distribution.
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download.
Example,
Ministry of Health, Lao Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, United Nations Children’s Fund. Lao PDR Social Indicator Survey (MICS-DHS) 2011-2012, Ref. LAO_2011_MICS-DHS_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [url] on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Champa Khamsouksai | Lao Statistics Bureau (Ministry of Planning and Investment) | nscit@etllao.com |
| Mr. Thipsavanh Intharack | Lao Statistics Bureau (Ministry of Planning and Investment) | tintharackk@yahoo.com |
| Ms. Sulaphanh Phimphaphongsavath | Lao Statistics Bureau (Ministry of Planning and Investment) | sulaphanh@gmail.com |
| Tim Schaffter | UNICEF | tschaffter@unicef.org |
| Mizuho Okimoto-Keawtathip | UNICEF | mokimotokaewtathip@unicef.org |
| Khamhoung Keovilay | UNICEF | kkeovilay@unicef.org |
Metadata production
DDI_LAO_2011_MICS-DHS_v01_M_WB
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Development Data Group | The World Bank | Documentation of the DDI |
2013-11-21
Metadata version
Version 01 (November 2013)