The Policy and Science for Health, Agriculture and Nutrition (PoSHAN) Annual Survey Datasets 2013-2016

<p>The <a href="https://www.nutritioninnovationlab.org/where-we-are/nepal">Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition, </a> with funding from the USAID, conducted a series of four annual surveys – The Policy and Science for Health, Agriculture and Nutrition (PoSHAN) Surveys – in Nepal from 2013-2016. The aim of the surveys was to assess nutritional status, diet and morbidity of preschool aged children and their mothers, and recently married, nulliparous women, and household food security, agricultural practices, participation in services and programs, among other factors, and examine associations between agricultural practices and food security, nutritional status, diet and health. The broader goal was guide policy and program interventions that may influence household food security, poverty, and the diets, health and nutrition of pre-school children and their mothers.</p>
The PoSHAN surveys were conducted in a total of 21 sub-district units or Village Development Committees (VDCs), each in a unique district. The VDCs in PoSHAN form a nationally representative sample, stratified by the agroecological zones of Mountains, Hills and Terai <i>(plains)</i> with each zone containing 7 VDCs. Further, each VDC consisted of a set of 3 wards, adding up to a total of 63 wards in the full sample. The PoSHAN surveys were conducted in the same season and site every year, with seasonal <i>(sentinel)</i> surveys conducted every 3 months during the first two years of the survey. Eligible households included in the survey consisted of households that either had at least one child under 5 years or a newly-married woman (married within the past 2 years).
<p>The annual surveys were conducted in all 21 VDCs with data collected using a total of 10 types of forms that collected information at the community, market, household and individual levels. The seasonal surveys were conducted in 3 of the 21 VDCs, one from each zone, that collected data on up to 7 forms with the focus of collecting data on household’s seasonal agricultural production. The datasets thus generated from these surveys make up a total of 4 annual surveys and 4 seasonal surveys.</p>
This collection contains the cross-sectional dataset for the annual surveys conducted from 2013 through 2016. For more information visit:<a href="http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfs/6/2/5/"> http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfs/6/2/5/.<a/> <a href="https://doi.org/10.7281/T1/EM61IB">(Link to Seasonal Surveys.)<a/>
Data files are formatted for STATA, and include MS Excel and CSV formats. Data specificity is limited to the regional district level to maintain participants' anonymity for public access. Restricted access to data at the VDC level may be requested by contacting the study team. Additional content details are available in the file set Metadata folder.