THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The field operations for the third phase of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) in Kerala begins on April 17.

NFHS-3, being conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, will be carried out in Kerala by the Population Research Centre of University of Kerala. Kerala University Vice-Chancellor M. K. Ramachandran Nair will inaugurate the launch of NFHS-3. Additional Director of Health Rajan Khobragade will preside.

NFHS-3 is being held in all 29 States and key survey indicators will be estimated at the national level for each State, for major metropolitan areas and for slum and other areas in selected cities. The sample will cover more than 99 per cent of the country's population.

The fieldwork of NFHS in Kerala is expected to last over three months and will cover all districts. The sample consists of 6,960 interviews, including 4,960 women in the 15-49 years age group and 2,000 men in the age group of 15-54 years.

NFHS-3 will try to strengthen the demographic and health database by estimating reliable State-level and national-level indicators of population, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and nutrition. It will also help in evidence-based decision-making in population, health and nutrition.

Another major objective of NFHS is to strengthen the survey research capabilities of Indian institutions and to provide reliable data to policymakers, family welfare and health programme managers, government agencies, NGOs and researchers.

One major area that NFHS-3 will cover is the knowledge, behaviour and attitude of people regarding HIV/AIDS. The survey is expected to generate crucial data on the knowledge of HIV, methods by which the disease is transmitted, places for getting tested, knowledge of anti-retroviral therapy and prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child, stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS and the knowledge of other sexually- transmitted diseases among the population.

The survey will collect information on the household characteristics, literacy, employment, women's empowerment, use of tobacco and alcohol, fertility-related information such as total fertility rates, teenage pregnancy and motherhood, marriage patterns and sex preference for children.

Information on family planning and family life education forms a chunk of NFHS. The knowledge and use of contraceptives, informed choice in contraception and the unmet need for family planning will be some of the key areas.

Data on the prevalence of infectious diseases; maternal health, including antenatal and postnatal care, assistance during delivery, birth weight of newborns; childhood mortality; issues in child health such as immunisation rates, source of treatment for childhood illness and nutritional status of children and adults will be collected.

Six field teams, each consisting of one field supervisor, one field editor, three female interviewers, one male interviewer and two health investigators, will cover the entire State.

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