Description

AIDTRANPREG (V774A) indicates whether the woman acknowledged transmission during pregnancy as a way that AIDS can be passed from mother to child. While this information was generally collected using a yes/no question format, some surveys used an open-ended question. See Comparability.

Comparability — Index

Comparability

Along with universe differences, AIDTRANPREG (V774A) has some differences in question wording. Most samples asked a yes/no question about whether the HIV virus could be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. A minority of samples asked an open-ended question about when or how the HIV virus could be transmitted from mother to child and recorded all transmission modes mentioned. Researchers should be attentive to the implications of this variation.

For AIDTRANPREG, the open-ended question format has implications for response category meaning. During data processing, women who knew that HIV could be transmitted from mother to child and mentioned specific ways it can be transmitted, but did not mention pregnancy as a way to transmit the virus were automatically coded as "No," unless they said that they did not know how it could be transmitted in any way. Consequently, unlike in yes/no questions, the response category of "No" here implies that respondents did not mention this method, not necessarily that they would not have agreed this is a way of transmission if they were outwardly asked about it.

In addition, women who were asked the general question "Can the AIDS virus be transmitted from mother to child?" and answered "No" or "Don't Know" were automatically coded as "No" and "Don't Know" in this variable.

Only those countries with comparability issues for this variable--such as switching between an open-ended and yes/no question format--are discussed below.

Comparability - Standard DHS

AIDTRANPREG (V774A) is included in Phase IV forward of the standard DHS questionnaire.

Universe