Quality of Data on Adult Mortality: An Assessment of NFHS I & II for India and its Different States

Nandita Saikia, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Mari P. N. Bhat, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This paper attempts to evaluate the data quality on adult mortality available on National Family Health Survey I & II conducted in India during 1992-1993 and 1998-1999 respectively. To check digit preference in age, we calculate Whipple’s Index. Due to strong digit preference, single year age data has been smoothened and then adult age specific death rate is calculated by applying the technique of Lexis’s diagram to back project usual resident age structure two years ago to the date of survey. The calculated death rate has been compared with SRS report to test out discrepancies of these two sources of mortality. Further, a summery index 45q15 for each State has been calculated and compared with SRS. A fairly good level of agreement between the two sources of data set is found for broad age group especially for early adult, adult and late adult age group for both rounds of NFHS.