Description

For women who are currently using family planning, FPCURSTMO_AF (V315_AF) reports the month of the calendar year when they first started using their current method. It is only available for Afghan samples. The year when the woman first started using her current method is reported in FPCURSTYR_AF (V316_AF).

Comparability

FPCURSTMO_AF (V315_AF) has no comparability problems across Afghan samples.

All standard date variables in Afghanistan DHS samples are given in the Solar Hijri calendar. The Solar Hijri calendar year consists of 12 months of 29 to 31 days. The first 6 months (Hamal through Sonbola) each contain 31 days, the following 5 months (Mizan through Dalvae) each contain 30 days, and the last month (Hut) contains 29 days (30 in a leap year). The Solar Hijri calendar begins on the March equinox, which usually falls around March 21 in the Gregorian calendar. In general, the Solar Hijri calendar is 621 or 622 years behind the Gregorian calendar.

Comparability - Standard DHS

FPCURSTMO_AF (V315_AF) is included in Phase IV forward of the standard DHS questionnaire for Afghan samples.

Universe