The implications of long term community involvement for the production and circulation of population knowledge

Sangeetha Madhavan, Mark Collinson, Nicholas W. Townsend, Kathleen Kahn and Stephen Tollman
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Sangeetha Madhavan: University of Maryland
Mark Collinson: University of the Witwatersrand
Nicholas W. Townsend: Brown University
Kathleen Kahn: University of the Witwatersrand
Stephen Tollman: University of the Witwatersrand

Demographic Research, 2007, vol. 17, issue 13, 369-388

Abstract: Demographic surveillance systems (DSS) depend on community acceptance and involvement to produce high quality longitudinal data. Ensuring community support also exposes power relations usually concealed in the research process. We discuss the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System in South Africa to argue that: 1) long-term presence and community involvement contribute to high response rates and data quality, 2) to maintain community support the project must demonstrate its usefulness, 3) reporting to community members provides valuable checks on the local relevance and comprehension of questions, and 4) community opinion can modify both wording and content of research questions.

Keywords: fertility; mortality; health; migration; South Africa; community; longitudinal; knowledge; demographic surveillance system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:17:y:2007:i:13

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2007.17.13

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