Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Migration Autopsy Data, Malawi, 2009-2012 [Healthy Futures] (ICPSR 37190)
Version Date: Dec 10, 2018 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jenny Ann Trinitapoli, University of Chicago;
Sara Yeatman, University of Colorado at Denver
Series:
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37190.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Migration Autopsy collection contains data collected as part of the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) Study. TLT is a longitudinal study in Balaka, Malawi designed to examine how young people navigate reproduction in an AIDS epidemic. Tsogolo la Thanzi means "Healthy Futures" in Chichewa, Malawi's most widely spoken language. New data is being collected to develop better understandings of the reproductive goals and behavior of young adults in Malawi -- the first cohort to never have experienced life without AIDS. To understand these patterns of family formation in a rapidly changing setting, TLT used the following approach: an intensive longitudinal design where respondents are interviewed every fourth months at TLT's centralized research center.
The Migration Autopsy collection contains many TLT respondents whom moved away during the study period. In order to both carefully track attrition and gather valuable information about migration, TLT performed a migration autopsy on study participants who migrated from the study area during the course of the 8-wave observation period. Data collection began in April of 2009 and was completed in December of 2012. To assess changes on a longer time-horizon, a follow-up survey we refer to as Tsogolo la Thanzi 2 (TLT-2) was fielded between June and August of 2016.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
None
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
This data may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is strictly prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, this data collection is restricted from general dissemination. To obtain this file, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement in accordance with existing ICPSR servicing policies.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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This collection is related to the Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Baseline Wave Study (ICPSR 36863).
- For further information about the Tsogolo La Thanzi [Healthy Futures] Study, please visit the Tsogolo La Thanzi website.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
In order to both carefully track attrition and gather information about migration, the Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) performed a migration autopsy on study participants who migrated from the study area during the course of the 8-wave observation period (2009-2011).
Study Design View help for Study Design
The Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) is an ongoing longitudinal study of young Malawians living within 7-kilometer radius of Balaka. After being drawn into the sample, respondents were sorted by location in the sampling area and randomly assigned to a primary interviewer, matched by gender. Each TLT interviewer was responsible for recruiting and interviewing their roster of approximately 100 respondents.
When enrolled respondents could not participate in a survey wave due to possible migration, interviewers would begin the process of locating informants who could report on key aspects of the respondent's whereabouts, including: timing of migration, reasons for migration, and destination. This relatively short survey took approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Sample View help for Sample
Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) placed considerable emphasis on drawing a genuinely representative and random sample of respondents. Researchers conducted a complete household census of all households in census enumeration areas where at least half of the area was within 7 kilometers of the Balaka town. TLT selected residents who usually reside in a given household. At the time of recruitment, respondents were considered ineligible if they were outside of the age range, were permanent migrants, or were deceased. Respondents were considered non-responders if they refused to participate in the study, were not found after three attempts to locate them, did not show up to their scheduled interview or to the second attempt to reschedule, or were deemed unable to participate because of language or severe mental disability.
In the respondent's absence, migration autopsies were completed by informants who were either related to the respondent or had previously lived with or nearby. Occasionally, when relatives and neighbors were unavailable, the migration autopsy was completed by less intimate individuals who knew the respondent and could speak about the reasons for the migration and the likely destination. A total of 675 migration autopsies were administered regarding 602 respondents. For 20 percent of women (n=306) who were enrolled at baseline, the TLT collected at least one migration autopsy during the study period, totaling 352 migration autopsies. Twenty-four percent of random men (n=139) and 16 percent of partners (n=157) who participated in the study at any wave had at least one migration autopsy report associated with their TLT records.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Informants who were either related to or had previously lived with or nearby previous Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) respondents who migrated from the study area.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
95 percent of recruited respondents completed interviews at baseline.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2018-12-10
Version History View help for Version History
2018-12-10 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.

This study was originally processed, archived, and disseminated by Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR), a project funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
