Dodowa HDSS

The Dodowa Health Research Centre (DHRC) was created as part of the agreements between the Government of Ghana and the British Oversees Development Agency (ODA now DFID) to have an operation research satellite station in the early 1990’s and began operation of a Health and Demographic Surveillance System site in 2005. Dodowa HDSS operates in the south eastern part of Ghana and covers an area of 1,528.9 km² with 132,690 registered residents of 24,221 households (2014) and covers two peri urban districts (Shai-Osudoku and Ningo-Prampram districts) of the Greater Accra Region. The Centre is located in Dodowa, the district capital of the Shai-Osudoku. Information on pregnancies, births, deaths migration and marriages are captured biannually using Personal Data Assistant (PDA) administered by trained fieldworkers.  Immunization and household socioeconomic data are also updated biannually and verbal autopsies (VA) are conducted on all deaths. The centre has very good working relationships with the two district health directorates and the local government authorities. The Centre focused on Malaria research since its inception but has since moved on to conduct research in other areas of health such as Maternal Neonatal and child health, Sanitation and Health, Tuberculosis, Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) and Social Protection. The centre has since 2013 been acknowledged by WHO as a Centre of Excellence in Implementation Research.