Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on the category below to view the
related answer:
In brief, what
is INDEPTH all about?
How is INDEPTH Governed?
What
are the current
cross-site initiatives of the INDEPTH Network?
What are the major capacity building strategies of
INDEPTH?
What is the
Annual General and
Scientific Meeting
(AGM)?
What is the
General
value added by INDEPTH?
Which are the categories of INDEPTH membership?
How
does one apply for membership?
What do members gain from the Network?
What
value does INDEPTH
generate for its
members /stakeholders?
Who are current members of
INDEPTH?
What
is one of the key characteristics of a DSS?
What
is the rationale for
having a DSS?
What are the functions of a DSS?
How do I get updates on INDEPTH activities?
In brief, what is INDEPTH all about?
INDEPTH is an international network currently consisting of 31 demographic surveillance system (DSS) field sites in 17 countries that collectively monitor 1,800,000 people at a household-level. The sites are currently located in Africa and Asia with the majority of sites located in sub-Saharan Africa (see our map). Each site operates in geographically defined populations, and conducts continuous, longitudinal, demographic monitoring, with timely production of data on all births, deaths, causes of death, and migration. This monitoring system provides a platform for the design and evaluation of a wide range of health care innovations as well as social, economic, behavioral and health interventions and research studies.
What are the current cross-site initiatives of the INDEPTH Network?
INDEPTH undertakes the following cross-site initiatives:
-
Health Equity: To determine the relationship between specific socio-economic factors and inequity in health outcomes.
-
Health Interventions: To establish a multi-site Health Intervention Trials platform.
-
INDEPTH Scientific Development and Leadership Programme: To produce a genre of African Scientists capable of identifying problems and designing solutions to solve these problems.
-
Causes of Death at INDEPTH Sites
The causes of death determined by verbal post-mortem as well as hospital recording. INDEPTH is currently collating and analysing such data from member sites. A monograph will be published based on this work. It is envisaged that this monograph with reliable cause-specific data for the participating sites will be extremely valuable in determining control activities and implications for research agenda in our sites. -
Adult Health: To assess the impact of chronic illness and lifestyles on households and their productivity.
-
Migration and urbanization: To analyse standardised population-based migration data.
-
HIV/AIDS, TB and related conditions: To document their health, population and household-level impacts.
-
Environment, Population and Health: To understand and assess the health consequences of global and local environmental change.
What are the major capacity building strategies of the INDEPTH Network?
To successfully realize the vision and goals of the network and execute network studies, INDEPTH pursues capacity building strategies:
-
Maximize connectivity among member sites to enable timely and reliable transfer of data, best practice sharing, expertise sharing and overall collaboration.
-
Standardize best-practice methodologies to ensure the consistency and quality of network data.
-
Enhance the skill sets of INDEPTH and network member staff through on-site training courses, fellowships and collaboration with INDEPTH partners.
-
Provide assistance to sites in interpreting and packaging data to maximize policy and programmatic influence.
Back to Top
The Annual General and Scientific Meeting (AGM) is the General Assembly of the Network that takes final decisions on issues tabled by the Board and/or the Executive Director. The AGM generates the scientific agenda through its working groups and reviews progress of joint work undertaken.
In addition, INDEPTH utilizes its AGM as a Scientific Forum for members to share their experiences in Demographic Surveillance in the form of presentations of scientific papers. Posters are also presented at the AGM especially by young scientists who are sponsored by the Network.
The AGM is chaired by the Chair of the Board of Trustees and in his/her absence, any member of the Board, elected by the Board.
The AGM is attended by members of the Network, i.e. Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) sites currently in Africa and Asia.
1st
AGM: Johannesburg, South Africa
2nd AGM: Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia;
3rd AGM:
4th AGM: Hanoi, Vietnam, May 3 - 7, 2004
Other issues
Individuals wishing to attend the AGM who are neither full members nor associate members of INDEPTH, will have to register with the INDEPTH Secretariat, and seek approval from the Executive Director. Upon approval, they will be responsible for their full costs. The Secretariat will however facilitate travel and hotel arrangements.
The INDEPTH Secretariat maintains a listserv (an email distribution list) comprising more than 300 people who wish to be continually informed of INDEPTH activities. For example, the list is alerted when a new edition of the INDEPTH News Bulletin is available, when announcements are made for workshops and other relevant network activities. If you want to join this list, please click on the "Join the INDEPTH LISTSERV" link on the INDEPTH homepage or send an email addressed to kwabena.boateng@indepth-network.org.
What is the General Value added by INDEPTH?
-
Existing well-established network
-
Potentially large participant population
-
Intervention comparisons in different sociological, cultural and ecological settings; a platform for evaluation of new intervention strategies across wide range of conditions
-
Commitment to mutual strengthening of capacity and sharing experiences and human resources across sites
-
Commitment to working together in a standardised way
-
Well-developed capacity to conduct longitudinal studies on defined individuals and populations
Single entry point for funders to conduct multi-centre studies
If you have any more questions please send email to: info@indepth-network.org