South Africa - 1in10 AHDSS Sample Database

The AHDSS database contains the data resulting from the exhaustive coverage of demographic events within a geographically defined population, namely the Agincourt sub-district of the Bushbuckridge district of South Africa. As of May 2013, the study site consists of 30 research villages with a population of 107,500 people, living in 19,500 households.

A range of tables store information in the database and are linked together to form the relational structure. The following tables exist:

The Observations table records the details of each household interview. Examples of data fields: 'date of observation' and 'name of fieldworker'

The Individuals table records the basic information about each individual in the population. Examples of data fields: 'Name', 'Surname', 'Date of Birth' , 'Gender', 'Nationality', and 'Refugee Status'

The Residences table records the episode of an individual in a location. The key data are the date at which a residence starts or ends, and the event that starts an episode (e.g. birth, in-migration, or present at the start of the DSS), and/or the event that ends the episode (e.g. death, out-migration). If an episode has not ended and is still open, then it is marked as 'current'.

The Locations table records the dwelling place at which an individual is located. The residence episode records when a person enters or leaves this place. A location is a physical structure that has a corresponding latitude and longitude.

The Memberships table records the episode of an individual joining or leaving a household. The key data are the date at which a membership starts or ends, and the event that starts an episode (e.g. birth, in-migration, or present at the start of the DSS), and/or the event that ends the episode (e.g. death, out-migration). If an episode has not ended and is still open, then it is marked as 'current'. Included in this table is the relationship of the individual to the household head (e.g. wife, son, etc.) If a household head dies or out-migrates then the membership episode is closed and a new membership episode is opened containing the new relationship to household head.

The Households table records the social unit (i.e., household) of which an individual is a member.

The Union Episodes records the episode of an inidividual in a union another individual. This table records the date when a union starts, the event that started it (e.g., marriage, re-marriage), the date when a union ends, and the event that ends it (e.g., divorce, separation or death). The Union Episodes table links to the Marriage Attributes table which records details about marriages and informal unions.

There are several 'Event' tables, which record the details of the demographic events which bring an individual into the database or remove an individual from the database. A few key variables are recorded on each event of which a very important one is the date of the event. These tables include:

Pregnancies

Births

In-Migrations

Out-Migrations

A number of status observation tables are also stored in the database. These table record attributes of either individuals or households and are recorded as cross-sectional data at the time of a census. Most status observations are repeated over time. Other related tables include the Verbal Autopsy table which records information used to determine cause of death and the Maternity Historytable which records the details of a woman's fertility outside the study site and observation period.

At household level, such tables include:

Asset Status

Child Care Grants

Food Security Status

At the individual level, such tables include:

Adult Health Status

Child Care Grants

Child Morbidity

Cough Status

Education Status

ElderHealthCare

Fatherhoods

Father Support Status

Health Care Utilisation

IndividualGrantStatus

Labour Status

Stroke Status

Temporary Migrations

Vital Documents