Introduction

The Dodowa health and demographic surveillance system (DHDSS) was established 2005 after an initial attempt in 2003 to enable the district health management and research team to have information on the population of the district prior to the setting up of a mutual health insurance scheme. The Dodowa health research centre (DHRC) which established the DHDSS is one of three research centres of the Ghana health service.

Setting/Location

The DHDSS is located within the boundaries of Ningo-Prampram and Shai-Osudoku districts of Ghana (formerly known as Dangme West District of Ghana). The area is fairly rural with a total land size of 1528.9sq. The surveillance system monitors health and demographic dynamics, facilitates evaluation of the morbidity and mortality impact of health and social interventions and provides a reliable sampling frame for research activities/projects.Events monitored routinely include pregnancies, births, morbidity, mortality, migrations, marriages, vaccination coverage and Socio economic status of households.

Data Collection Process

The total population currently under surveillance is 117 341 individuals residing in 24 221 households scatted in 382 communities. The two districts have been administratively divided into four (4) sub-districts and data collection in each sub district is overseen by a field supervisor. The supervisor oversees the work of four fieldworkers’ averagely. Community Key Informants (CKIs) are identified and trained to complement the work of field staff by recording early events that occur in the community. The DHDSS have since 2012 moved from a paper-based to an electronic-based system of data collection using Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

 fig. 2, 3 & 4 Fieldworkers using the PDA for data collection and offering support to international students.

 
Some Key Findings

The population under surveillance has witnessed some steady rise since its first census in 2005. The population is young with about 40.5% being less than 15years which is typical of developing country like Ghana.Women in the reproductive age (15-49) years are 28.22% whiles children below 5 years account for 10.46% of the population. Ante-natal coverage is 94.2%, whiles fertility rate is 3. In terms of mortality, infant and under five mortality is 9 and 19 per 1000 live births respectively. The average household size is five (5) members with a dependency ratio of 68.1%. Farming is the main source of livelihood for the people within the surveillance area. Over eighty percent (83.6%) of the population use unimproved toilet facilities whiles 80.22% have access to portable water. The proportion of males and females population is 46.4% and 53.66% respectively. The Dominant ethnic group is Ga-Dangme whiles Christians constitutes over 80% of the population. Life expectancy for males and females is 69 and 72 years respectively.

 Age and sex structure of the population, DHDSS 2013.

 In terms of wealth quintiles, whiles the percentage of the poorest HHs reduced from 48.39% in 2006 to 5.52% in 2013, the least poor HHs increased from 7.03% to 23.33% within the same period.

In terms of education, females are more likely to have no or lower education attainment relative to their male counterparts.

Policy Implications

The major strength of the DHDSS is the cumulative experience and capacity in health and demographic surveillance built over time. The regular household census updates allow continuous, household-level monitoring of all vital events and health indicators. The DHDSS is also crucial in providing information for better healthcare and local government planning. The HDSS provided data support to the following policy interventions;

• Information on households with pregnant women for targeted interventionsg. ILO conditional cash transfer for pregnant women.
• Information on Households without bed nets and also targeting of households for EPI interventions.
• Information on poorest households for social protection interventions coverage such as Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP).

The operations of DHDSS also collaborates with the two districts assemblies in provision of information on;

• Updates information on various communities within the surveillance area
• House numbering and address systems.
• Periodic and regular updates of the population of the two districts.

Funding

The DHDSS has no core funding. Its operations are funded through various projects run in the centre.

 Acknowledgement

We thank the Indepth-Network, the two districts (Shai-Osudoku and Ningo- Prampram) we operate in. Special thanks also goes to the District Health Management Teams, Ghana Education Service and the Birth and Death Registry for their collaboration and support over the years of operation.

The Dodowa Health Research Centre (DHRC) was created, in 1990, as a satellite research station by the Ghana Government with the help from the British Overseas Development Agency (now DFID). It was set up to serve the southern Ghana belt, with the mandate to conduct health research with the aim of guiding policy and decision making within the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

The DHRC is headquartered in then Dangme West district now the Shai Osudoku and Ningo Prampram Districts of the greater Accra region of Ghana.  The Centre has a specialization in Malaria Operations, Maternal and Child Health, population studies, Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Health Systems with a special focus on Implementation Research.  In 2005, the DHRC set up a Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) which covers an area of 1,528.9 square kilometers.

DHRC has Staff strength of One Hundred and Forty four (144), made up of Social Scientists like Medical Anthropologist, Sociologists, Public Health Specialists, Demographers, Medical statisticians and Data Management, Financial and Accounting Professionals, Medical Practitioners and Biological Scientists.

About UsVision

Our vision is to conduct multidisciplinary research to address health priority areas with the aim to improve global health.

Mission

To be a center of excellence that provides national and international leadership in quality research to address health challenges and to produce evidence for health policy, planning and service delivery.

Our Specific Objectives

1. To take part in identifying and carrying out priority research to help address policy, planning and implementation needs of the GHS.
2. To help build the capacity to undertake research and find more efficient/cost effective solutions and implementation alternatives to identified need and problems.
3. To disseminate results of research findings to key people, policy makers and anyone responsible for health care in a meaningful way.
4. To be an African/International Resource Centre for building capacity in applied Social Science Research.

Partners and Funders:

• World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine through the Gates Foundation
• INDEPTH Network
• INESS through the Gate Foundation
• School of Public Health, University of Ghana
• Georgetown University
• International Labour Organisation
• Wellcome Trust
• African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN)

Contract Us

General Information on the Centre:

The Senior Administrative Manager
Tel:   +233 -5013- 36172
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All Correspondence to the Centre must be addressed to:

The Administrator
Dodowa Health Research Centre
Post Office Box DD1
Dodowa - G/A
Ghana.

 For more information please visit our website www.dodowa-hrc.org

The Dodowa Health Research Centre (DHRC) was created, in 1990, as a satellite research station by the Ghana Government with the help from the British Overseas Development Agency (now DFID). It was set up to serve the southern Ghana belt, with the mandate to conduct health research with the aim of guiding policy and decision making within the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

The DHRC is headquartered in then Dangme West district now the Shai Osudoku and Ningo Prampram Districts of the greater Accra region of Ghana.  The Centre has a specialization in Malaria Operations, Maternal and Child Health, population studies, Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Health Systems with a special focus on Implementation Research.  In 2005, the DHRC set up a Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) which covers an area of 1,528.9 square kilometers.

DHRC has Staff strength of One Hundred and Forty four (144), made up of Social Scientists like Medical Anthropologist, Sociologists, Public Health Specialists, Demographers, Medical statisticians and Data Management, Financial and Accounting Professionals, Medical Practitioners and Biological Scientists.

Vision

Our vision is to conduct multidisciplinary research to address health priority areas with the aim to improve global health.

Mission

To be a center of excellence that provides national and international leadership in quality research to address health challenges and to produce evidence for health policy, planning and service delivery.

Our Specific Objectives

1. To take part in identifying and carrying out priority research to help address policy, planning and implementation needs of the GHS.
2. To help build the capacity to undertake research and find more efficient/cost effective solutions and implementation alternatives to identified need and problems.
3. To disseminate results of research findings to key people, policy makers and anyone responsible for health care in a meaningful way.
4. To be an African/International Resource Centre for building capacity in applied Social Science Research.

Partners and Funders:

• World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine through the Gates Foundation
• INDEPTH Network
• INESS through the Gate Foundation
• School of Public Health, University of Ghana
• Georgetown University
• International Labour Organisation
• Wellcome Trust
• African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN)

Contract Us

General Information on the Centre:

The Senior Administrative Manager
Tel:   +233 -5013- 36172
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All Correspondence to the Centre must be addressed to:

The Administrator
Dodowa Health Research Centre
Post Office Box DD1
Dodowa - G/A
Ghana.

For more information please visit our website www.dodowa-hrc.org

The Dodowa health and demographic surveillance system (DHDSS) was established 2005 after an initial attempt in 2003 to enable the district health management and research team to have information on the population of the district prior to the setting up of a mutual health insurance scheme. The Dodowa health research centre (DHRC) which established the DHDSS is one of three research centres of the Ghana health service.

Operational area of the DHDSS located within the boundaries of Shai Osudoku and Ningo-Prampram districts.

Setting/Location

The DHDSS is located within the boundaries of Ningo-Prampram and Shai-Osudoku districts of Ghana (formerly known as Dangme West District of Ghana). The area is fairly rural with a total land size of 1528.9sq. The surveillance system monitors health and demographic dynamics, facilitates evaluation of the morbidity and mortality impact of health and social interventions and provides a reliable sampling frame for research activities/projects.Events monitored routinely include pregnancies, births, morbidity, mortality, migrations, marriages, vaccination coverage and Socio economic status of households.

Data Collection Process

The total population currently under surveillance is 117 341 individuals residing in 24 221 households scatted in 382 communities. The two districts have been administratively divided into four (4) sub-districts and data collection in each sub district is overseen by a field supervisor. The supervisor oversees the work of four fieldworkers’ averagely. Community Key Informants (CKIs) are identified and trained to complement the work of field staff by recording early events that occur in the community. The DHDSS have since 2012 moved from a paper-based to an electronic-based system of data collection using Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

fig. 2, 3 & 4 Fieldworkers using the PDA for data collection and offering support to international students.

Some Key Findings

The population under surveillance has witnessed some steady rise since its first census in 2005. The population is young with about 40.5% being less than 15years which is typical of developing country like Ghana.Women in the reproductive age (15-49) years are 28.22% whiles children below 5 years account for 10.46% of the population. Ante-natal coverage is 94.2%, whiles fertility rate is 3. In terms of mortality, infant and under five mortality is 9 and 19 per 1000 live births respectively. The average household size is five (5) members with a dependency ratio of 68.1%. Farming is the main source of livelihood for the people within the surveillance area. Over eighty percent (83.6%) of the population use unimproved toilet facilities whiles 80.22% have access to portable water. The proportion of males and females population is 46.4% and 53.66% respectively. The Dominant ethnic group is Ga-Dangme whiles Christians constitutes over 80% of the population. Life expectancy for males and females is 69 and 72 years respectively.

 Age and sex structure of the population, DHDSS 2013.

In terms of wealth quintiles, whiles the percentage of the poorest HHs reduced from 48.39% in 2006 to 5.52% in 2013, the least poor HHs increased from 7.03% to 23.33% within the same period.

In terms of education, females are more likely to have no or lower education attainment relative to their male counterparts.

Policy Implications

The major strength of the DHDSS is the cumulative experience and capacity in health and demographic surveillance built over time. The regular household census updates allow continuous, household-level monitoring of all vital events and health indicators. The DHDSS is also crucial in providing information for better healthcare and local government planning. The HDSS provided data support to the following policy interventions;

• Information on households with pregnant women for targeted interventionsg. ILO conditional cash transfer for pregnant women.
• Information on Households without bed nets and also targeting of households for EPI interventions.
• Information on poorest households for social protection interventions coverage such as Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP).

The operations of DHDSS also collaborates with the two districts assemblies in provision of information on;

• Updates information on various communities within the surveillance area
• House numbering and address systems.
• Periodic and regular updates of the population of the two districts.

Funding

The DHDSS has no core funding. Its operations are funded through various projects run in the centre.

Acknowledgement

We thank the Indepth-Network, the two districts (Shai-Osudoku and Ningo- Prampram) we operate in. Special thanks also goes to the District Health Management Teams, Ghana Education Service and the Birth and Death Registry for their collaboration and support over the years of operation.