General Information
2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS-2003) was carried out as one of the quinquennial field surveys being conducted since 1968 and constitutes the third survey among Demographic and Health Surveys whose first two were conducted in 1993 and 1998 in Turkey. TDHS-2003 is nationally representative covering interviews. Field work of TDHS-2003 was conducted by Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies in collaboration with Ministry of Health General Directorate of Mother and Child Health / Family Planning. Financial support was funded by the government budget within the project in the State Planning Organization's annual investment program and European Union within the "Reproductive Health Programme of Turkey", which was conducted by the Ministry of Health General Directorate of Mother and Child Health / Family Planning in cooperation with European Union.
The primary objective of the TDHS-2003 is to provide up-to-date and reliable data on fertility levels and trends in fertility, infant and child mortality, family planning, maternal and child health, and nutrition. Data on knowledge of respondents on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS are collected as well. Gathering this information is vital for planning policies based on knowledge on reproductive health issues and for planning, monitoring and assessment programs. The TDHS-2003 sample is of sufficiently size to allow for analysis on some of the survey topics at the level of the 12 geographical regions (NUTS 1) which were adopted within the context of Turkey's process of adaptation to the European Union.