Volume 55 - Article 6 | Pages 201–222  

A personal perspective on the history of the World Fertility Survey and The Demographic and Health Surveys Program: An interview with Tom Pullum

By Thomas Pullum, Sara Yeatman

Abstract

Background: We take for granted that there are data on critical topics such as health and mortality, fertility, and social processes across the globe. For over 50 years, the World Fertility Survey program (1972–1984) and its successor, The Demographic and Health Surveys Program (1984–present), filled in essential gaps in human knowledge.

Objective: I interviewed Tom Pullum to better understand the history and evolution of the WFS and DHS, including why they were introduced, how they worked, and how they changed over time.

Contribution: We contribute to the documentation of the history of international collaboration that for half a century has produced representative and standardized estimates of population and health indicators for many parts of the globe. In the telling, we recall the history of the effort, its trials and tribulations, as well as its tradeoffs, limitations, and the oft-hidden excitement and messiness of demographic measurement.

Author’s Affiliation

• Thomas Pullum - ICF International, United States of America EMAIL
• Sara Yeatman - University of Colorado Denver, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Unrealized fertility in demography
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Sample selection bias in adult mortality estimates from mobile phone surveys: Evidence from 25 low- and middle-income countries
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Women’s health decline following (some) unintended births: A prospective study
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Sibling support and the educational prospects of young adults in Malawi
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Beyond denomination: The relationship between religion and family planning in rural Malawi
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