In the early-mid 1990s, Albania entered a new phase of major changes, moving from a totalitarian to a democratic system and shifting gradually to the free market economy. This process led, naturally, to changes in various demographic and health characteristics of the Albanian society. The 2008-09 Albania Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS) is a nationally representative study aimed at collecting and providing information on population, demographic, and health characteristics of the country. Population-based studies of this magnitude are a major undertaking that provide information on important indicators which measure the progress of a country. The ADHS results help provide the necessary information to assess, measure, and evaluate the existing programs in the country. They also provide crucial information to policy-makers when drafting new policies and strategies related to the health sector and health services in Albania. The information collected in the 2008-09 Albania Demographic and Health Survey will be used not only by local decision-makers and programme managers, but also by partners and foreign donors involved in various development areas in Albania, as well as by academic institutions to do further analysis with the collected data. The 2008-09 Albania Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS) was implemented by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) and the Institute of Public Health (IPH), of the Ministry of Health. ICF Macro provided technical assistance to the ADHS through funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United State Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded MEASURE DHS programme. Local costs of the survey were supported by USAID, the Swiss Cooperation Office in Albania (SCO-A), UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Data collection was conducted from 28 October, 2008 to 26 April, 2009 using a nationally representative sample of almost 9,000 households. All women age 15-49 in these households and all men age 15-49 in half of the households were eligible to be individually interviewed. In addition to the data collected through interviews with these women and men, capillary blood samples were collected from all children age 6-59 months and all eligible women and men age 15-49 for anaemia testing. All children under five years of age and eligible women and men age 15-49 were weighed and measured to assess their nutritional status. Finally, blood pressure (BP) was measured for eligible women and men in the households selected for the men’s interview to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in the adult population. The 2008-09 ADHS is designed to provide data to monitor the population and health situation in Albania. Specifically, the 2008-09 ADHS collected information on fertility levels, marriage, sexual activity, fertility preferences, knowledge and use of family planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of women and young children, childhood mortality, maternal and child health, and awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Additional features of the 2008-09 ADHS include the collection of information on migration (out-migration, returning migrants and internal migration), haemoglobin testing to detect the presence of anaemia, blood pressure (BP) measurements among the adult population, and questions related to accessibility and affordability of health services. The information collected in the 2008-09 ADHS provides updated estimates of an array of demographic and health indicators that will assist in the development of appropriate policies and programmes to address the most important health issues in Albania.
