Housing Characteristics - Location, Building Materials, Energy, Water and Sanitation is a 37-item measure of the respondents' dwelling unit and its characteristics such as type of unit, energy consumption, water and sanitation, and any nearby land they use for production or for their own consumption. Navigational aspects (i.e. skip-out patterns and next question sequences) have not been included on this page but can be viewed on the original questionnaire which can be found here.
Geographies Tested:
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range:
I will now proceed to ask some questions about your dwelling unit and its characteristics and any nearby land you use for production or own consumption, such as a garden.
1. Main type of material used for the
construction of the walls of the dwelling
(Do not ask. Record material based on
enumerator's observation)
Refers to the material that covers the largest
part of the wall. The quality of the material
does not matter.
Response Options:
Natural walls
No walls- 11
Cane Palm Trunks- 12
Dirt- 13
Rudimentary walls
Bamboo with mud- 21
Stone with mud- 22
Uncovered adobe- 23
Plywood- 24
Cardboard- 25
Reused wood- 26
Thatch Woven walls- 27
Tin- 28
Finished walls
Cement- 31
Stone with lime cement- 32
Bricks- 33
Cement blocks- 34
Covered adobe- 35
Galvanized iron- 36
Wood planks shingles- 37
Other (specify)- 96
2. 2 Main type of material used
for construction of the roof
(Do not ask. Record material based on
enumerator's observation)
Refers to the material that covers the largest
part of the roof. The quality of the material
does not matter
Response Options:
Natural walls
No roof- 11
Thatch Palm leaf- 12
Sod- 13
Rudimentary roofing
Rustic mat- 21
Palm Bamboo- 22
Wood planks- 23
Cardboard- 24
Finished roofing
Metal Tin- 31
Wood- 32
Calamine Cement fibre- 33
Ceramic tiles- 34
Cement- 35
Roofing shingles- 36
Other (specify)- 96
3. Main type of material used
for construction of the floor
(Do not ask. Record material based on
enumerator's observation)
Refers to the material that covers the largest
part of the floor. The quality of the material
does not matter
Response Options:
Natural floor
Earth sand- 11
Coral- 12
Dung- 13
Rudimentary floor
Wood planks- 21
Palm Bamboo- 22
Finished floor
Parquet or polished wood- 31
Vinyl or asphalt strips- 32
Ceramic tiles- 33
Cement- 32
Lino- 33
Carpet- 34
Other (specify)- 96
4. Is your household, dwelling unit or land (including any land you may use for production or own consumption) located near (within 2km 30min walk) any of the following?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
Don't know- 99
5. How many rooms in this household are used for sleeping?
Response Options:
Number of rooms- Enter number of rooms [ ]
Don’t know- 99
6. Does your household have:
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
7. What is the source of electricity in your household?
Response Options:
Grid- 1
Off-grid, solar- 2
Off-grid, wind- 3
Off-grid, hydro- 4
Off-grid, fuel- 5
8. What type of cook stove is mainly used for cooking in this household?
Response Options:
Electric stove- 1
Solar cooker- 2
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)Cooking gas stove- 3
Piped natural gas stove- 4
Biogas stove- 5
Liquid fuel stove- 6
Manufactured solid fuel stove- 7
Traditional solid fuel stove- 8
Three stone stove (open fire)- 9
No cooking in household- 10
Other (specify)- 96
9. Does the stove have a chimney?
10. Does the stove have a fan?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
Don't know- 99
11. What type of fuel or energy source is used in this cook stove?
Response Options:
Alcoholethanol- 1
GasolineDiesel- 2
KeroseneParaffin- 3
Coal Lignite- 4
Charcoal- 5
Wood- 6
Straw Shrubs Grass- 7
Agricultural crop residue- 8
Animal dungwaste- 9
Processed biomass (pellets) or wood chips- 10
Garbageplastic- 11
Sawdust- 12
Other (specify)- 96
12. Is the cooking usually done in the house, in a separate building, or outdoors?
Response Options:
Inside the house, in a separate room used as kitchen- 1
Inside the house, somewhere else- 2
In a separate building- 3
Outdoors- 4
Other (specify)- 96
13. Who in this household is usually in charge of cooking? (if various select person who does it most often)
Response Options:
Adult woman (age 15+ years)- 1
Adult man (age 15+ years)- 2
Girl child (under 15)- 3
Boy child (under 15)- 4
Don't know- 99
14. Who in your household is usually in charge of gathering, fetching, carrying and or bringing fuel materials for cooking or heating? (if various select person who does it most often)
Response Options:
Adult woman (age 15+ years)- 1
Adult man (age 15+ years)- 2
Girl child (under 15)- 3
Boy child (under 15)- 4
Nobody fetches fuel- 5
Don't know- 99
15. How long does it usually take to go there, get fuel and come back?
Response Options:
Number of minutes- Enter number of minutes [ ]
Don’t know- 98
16. What does this household use to heat the home when needed?
Response Options:
Central heating- 1
Manufactured space heater- 2
Traditional space heater- 3
Manufactured cookstove- 4
Traditional cookstove- 5
Three stone stoveopen fire- 6
No heatingcooling in household- 7
Other (specify)- 8
17. Does the house have a chimney (apart from the kitchen extractor)?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
18. What type of fuel does your household mainly use for heating?
Response Options:
Electricity- 1
Piped natural gas- 2
Solar generator- 3
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)- 4
Biogas- 5
Alcoholethanol- 6
GasolineDiesel- 7
KeroseneParafin- 8
Coal Lignite- 9
Charcoal- 10
Wood- 11
Straw Shrubs Grass- 12
Agricultural crop- 13
Animal dungwaste- 14
Processed biomass (pellets) or wood chips- 15
Garbageplastic- 16
Sawdust- 17
Other (specify)- 96
19. What type of fuel does your household mainly use for cooling?
Response Options:
Electricity- 1
Piped natural gas- 2
Solar generator- 3
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)- 4
Biogas- 5
Alcoholethanol- 6
GasolineDiesel- 7
KeroseneParaffin- 8
Other (specify)- 96
20. At night, what does your household mainly use to light the home?
Response Options:
Electricity (grid)- 1
Electricity (fuel generator)- 2
Electricity (solar generator)- 3
Solar lantern- 4
Rechargeable flashlight- 5
Battery powered flashlight- 6
Biogas lamp- 7
Gasoline lamp- 8
Kerosene or parafin lamp- 9
Charcoal- 10
Wood- 11
Strawshrubsgrass- 12
Agricultural crop- 13
Animal dungwaste- 14
Agricultural crop- 15
Oil lamp- 16
Candle- 17
No lighting in household- 18
Other (specify)- 96
21. Does this household use the same source of drinking water across seasons (e.g. different sources used during dry and wet season)?
Response Options:
Yes, the same main source is used all year- 1
No, different main sources are used in different seasons- 2
22. Record season name[e.g. dry, wet, spring, summer, winter, autumn]
23. What is the main source of drinking water for members of the household?
Response Options:
Piped water
Piped into dwelling- 11
Piped into yard or plot- 12
Piped to neighbour- 13
Tap standpipe serving 5 households or less- 14
Public tapstandpipe serving more than 5 households- 15
Tube well, borehole- 21
Dug well
Protected well- 31
Unprotected well- 32
Water from spring
Protected spring- 41
Unprotected spring- 42
Rainwater collection- 51
Tanker-truck- 61
Cart with small tank drum- 71
Surface water (river, stream, dam, lake, pond, canal, irrigation channel)- 81
Bottled water- 91
Other (specify)- 96
24. Where is that water source located?
Response Options:
In own dwelling- 1
In own yardplot- 2
Elsewhere- 3
25. How long does it usually take to go there, get water and come back ?
Response Options:
Number of minutes- Enter number of minutes [ ]
Don’t know- 98
26. Who usually goes to this source to collect drinking water for your household? (if various, select person who goes most often)
Response Options:
Adult woman (age 15+ years)- 1
Adult man (age 15+ years)- 2
Girl child (under 15)- 3
Boy child (under 15)- 4
Do not know- 98
27. What mode of transport do youdoes shehe usually use to get the drinking water?
Response Options:
Walk- 1
Bicycle- 2
Motorcycle- 3
Sidecar- 4
Car- 5
Bus van shared vehicle- 6
Public transport- 7
28. In the past 12 months, has there been any time when your household didn’t have sufficient quantities of drinking water when needed?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 2
I don't know- 98
29. In the past 12 months, has your drinking water source been compromised (due to pollution, chemicals, animal refuse, garbage, etc.) or interrupted due to shortages?
Response Options:
Yes, and I had to find a different source (even if temporary)- 1
Yes, the water was compromised but I continued using it- 2
No- 3
I don't know- 98
30. What type of toilet facility do members of your household usually use?
Response Options:
Flush Pour flush
Flush to piped sewer system- 11
Flush to septic tank- 12
Flush to pit (latrine)- 13
Flush to somewhere else [e.g. over water, lagoon, etc.]- 14
Flush to unknown place not sure- 15
Pit latrine
Ventilated Improved Pit latrine (VIP)- 21
Pit latrine with slab- 22
Pit latrine without slab Open pit- 23
Composting toilet- 31
Bucket- 41
Hanging toilet, Hanging latrine- 51
No facility, Bush, Field, Beach, Lagoon- 95
Other (specify)- 96
31. Where is this facility located?
Response Options:
In own dwelling- 1
In own yard- 2
Elsewhere- 3
32. Is the facility and the way to reach it adequately illuminated and does it have a lock?
Response Options:
Yes, it is well illuminated and has a lock- 1
Yes, it is well illuminated but doesn’t have a lock- 2
It has a lock but it isn't well illuminated- 3
No, it is neither illuminated nor has a lock- 4
33. Do you share this facility with other households?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
34. Indicate number of households you share these facilities with:
Response Options:
ENTER NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS [ ]
35. Where are the contents of the toilet facility emptied to?
Response Options:
A treatment plant- 1
Buried in a covered pit- 2
Uncovered pit bush field open ground- 3
Surface water (river, dam, lake, pond, stream, canal, irrigation channel)- 4
Other- 96
Don't know- 98
36. Does the facility have a hand-washing place nearby?
Response Options:
Yes- 1
No- 0
37. Do you typically keep any of the following next to your hand washing place?
Response Options:
Soap or detergent- 1
Ash, mud, sand- 2
None of the above- 3
Not Available
UN Women (2020). Model questionnaire: Measuring the nexus between gender and environment. https://data.unwomen.org/publications/model-questionnaire-measuring-nexus-between-gender-and-environment
Psychometric Score
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Qualitative Research
Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework
Field Expert Input
Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing
Internal
Test-retest
Interrater
Content
Face
Criterion (gold-standard)
Construct
Readability
Scoring Clarity
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