Supporting climate and health research
IPUMS DHS data provide a critical resource to help illuminate the relationship between climate change and population health. To support such research, the IPUMS Global Health team received a 2023 supplemental grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or NICHD (3R01HD069471-12S1).
This blog is designed to be a resource for researchers who are familiar with population health survey data but new to research using spatial data sources. The blog will introduce spatial data concepts and demonstrate basic spatial data processing techniques in R.
Additionally, the supplemental grant supports:
- the integration and dissemination of DHS malaria monitoring data (MIS surveys) in IPUMS DHS.
- the dissemination of displaced GPS coordinates for DHS primary sampling units and the addition of new contextual variables to the IPUMS data extract system.
These three elements will make it easier to add environmental context to research using IPUMS DHS surveys and will provide additional data relevant to disease vector transmission. Combined, they will enhance researchers’ ability to use IPUMS DHS data to understand the impacts of climate change on health.
Additional support
This blog is developed in collaboration with the Climate Hazards Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is supported by USAID Cooperative Agreement 72DFFP19CA00001.
The IPUMS research team also receives support as members of the Minnesota Population Center through a grant from the NICHD Population Research Infrastructure Program (P2C HD041023).
What is IPUMS DHS?
IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community context.
IPUMS is comprised of several individual products, each with different data sources and content areas. IPUMS DHS is one of several IPUMS Global Health products—representative household surveys, primarily from low- and middle-income countries, that gather extensive information on health, family planning, living conditions, and more.
IPUMS DHS specifically facilitates analysis of data provided by The Demographic and Health Surveys Program (DHS), which has been administered in low- and middle-income countries since the 1980s.
IPUMS DHS harmonizes DHS variables over time and provides comprehensive cross-survey documentation to make it easier to find and understand DHS data.
IPUMS DHS data are available free of charge, but users must register with The DHS Program to gain access. Registered DHS users can enter their DHS username and password to access data from IPUMS DHS. For more information about downloading IPUMS DHS data, see the associated post.
How to cite
For a comprehensive guide to citing IPUMS DHS, see the citation page on the IPUMS DHS website.
To cite an individual post on this blog, we suggest the following format:
Roberts, F., & Gunther, M. (2024, Februrary 4). Attaching CHIRPS precipitation data to DHS surveys. IPUMS DHS Climate Change and Health Research Hub. https://tech.popdata.org/dhs-research-hub/posts/2024-02-04-dhs-chirps/index.html
Getting help
IPUMS users can find help on the IPUMS User Forum or by contacting IPUMS user support at ipums@umn.edu.