Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Q202. Age at first marriage is considered
to be a critical risk indicator. You might have
to probe to get age at first marriage. Over the
longer term, we want to see age at first marriage
increasing. Probe to get the respondent to
estimate as best they can if they don’t remember
exactly. But if they cannot estimate, write 88
for DON’T KNOW into the boxes.
Q203. Asks about currently married or
living with someone. If a person is married
but separated (e.g., waiting for a divorce),
then he/she should not be considered as
“currently married.” Again, be careful how you
code the response and make sure it is the
correct code. If the respondent is currently
married, they may either be living with their
spouse (1), living with some other sexual
partner such as a girlfriend or boyfriend (2),
or not living with either the spouse or another
sexual partner (3). If the respondent is not
currently married, they may or may not be
living with a sexual partner. Pay attention to
skip patterns, because Q204 is only to be
asked of married people.
Q204. The wording of this question
depends on the sex of the respondent. If the
respondent is male, the interviewer asks if he
has more than one wife. If the respondent is
female, the interviewer asks, does your husband
have other wives? Regardless of the gender
of the respondent, the answer always refers
to wives. This is simply a yes/no question
and does not ask about number of wives.
This question may be excluded in countries
where polygamy 15 not practiced.
Sections 3, 4, 5, 6 : Sexual history by
partner type
The questions in these sections are very
personal and for that reason it is essential that
you, the interviewer, read the questions in a
confident, non-judgmental, and professional
manner. Anytime that a respondent appears
to be on the verge of refusing to answer a
question, you should remind him/her that all
answers will be kept confidential.
Section 3 summarizes data on number and
types of partners, while Sections 4, 5 and 6 ask
specific questions about regular, non-regular,
and commercial partners. Many respondents
may not have all these types of partners,
therefore several of these sections may be
skipped. Those who have not been sexually
active within the past 12 months will not
answer any of the questions in these sections.
Section 3 : Numbers and types of partners
For those respondents who have sexual
experience, this section identifies the total
number of sexual partners during the previous
12 months, and breaks down that total by type.
Q301. This question acts as a filter to
determine what proportion of the entire
sample has ever had sexual intercourse. If the
respondent answers YES to the question, you
continue to 302. If he/she answers NO or
does not answer the question, you then turn
to section 7 on condoms (Q703), skipping
sections 4, 5, and 6. By “sexual intercourse,”
we mean sexual activity that includes
penetration of the penis in the vagina or anus.
Be tactful, but ask the question exactly as it is
worded. This question is not asking if the
respondent has ever had anal sex, but rather
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