DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37200.v1
title: Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Biomarker Data, Malawi, 2009-2012 [Healthy Futures]
title: Version 1

description: The Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT): Biomarker 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. Data collection began in May of 2009 and was completed in June of 2012. To assess changes on a longer time-horizon, a follow-up survey referred to as Tsologo la Thanzi 2 (TLT-2) was fielded between June and August of 2016.
The biomarker data collection contains the results of HIV testing and pregnancy testing. These data sets include respondents from all waves.
description: Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) implemented HIV testing and counseling (HTC) using an experimental design that varied the intensity of HTC among respondents. This means that researchers can study the impacts of knowledge of one's status, as well as have data on respondents' HIV status and HIV incidence over time.
description: The Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) is an ongoing longitudinal study of young Malawians living within 7-kilometer radius of Balaka. The data was collected during face-to-face interviews from a simple random sample.
At sample selection, female and male respondents in the core sample were randomized to one of three HIV testing and counseling (HTC) groups that varied the intensity of HTC.
Following completion of the survey at each wave, female respondents were asked to take a urine hCG pregnancy test regardless of their self-reported pregnancy status, reported sexual activity, or visible pregnancy.
description: 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:
			   		Created variable labels and/or value labels.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
description: Response Rates: 
					At baseline, uptake of HTC among respondents offered testing was 85% for women and 78% for men. In 2015, 93% of women and 91% of men consented to HIV testing.
The acceptance rate for pregnancy testing ranged between 84-94% across waves.
description: Datasets: 
					
						DS0: Study-Level Files
						DS1: HIV Dataset
						DS2: Pregnancy Dataset
description: Tsogolo La Thanzi (TLT) Series
description: face-to-face interview
description: Individuals age 15-25 in 2009 living in a 7km radius around Balaka, Malawi.
				   		Smallest Geographic Unit: None
description: 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.
At the time of listing, the area contained 6696 eligible women and 6180 men. 1500 women were randomly selected for inclusion in the sample. The only people excluded at the time of the random draw were members of the immediate TLT staff and their spouses. At selection, an additional 200 women were marked as reserve respondents to compensate for ineligible women. A similar protocol was followed for the 600 male respondents drawn from the general population (as opposed to the respondent-driven partner sample). The sampling ration is approximately a 1 in 4 for women and a 1 in 10 for the random sample of men.