RELIABILITY STUDY OF REPORTING OF DAYS SINCE LAST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE IN MATLAB, BANGLADESH

The accuracy of responses to a question on the frequency of sexual int ercourse in the 4-week period prior to an interview is expected to be low. This paper examines the reliability of an alternative question: ' How many days since you last had sexual intercourse?'. This was a part of a larger longitudinal study of fertility dynamics in Matlab, Bangl adesh. The response pairs of 61 women who were asked the same question by an interviewer and on the next day by a supervisor, were analysed. Refusals were more common among older women and among women who gave a response at the extremes of the distribution for the other interview . Of the pairs of two responses, 78% had a difference of 3 days or les s. Further study and use of the question on days since last intercours e is recommended.