An assessment of methods for estimating adult mortality from two sets of data on maternal orphanhood

Survey and census data about the survival of respondents’ mothers have been used widely for the estimation of adult mortality. Four methods are described that combine two sets of orphanhood data and yield estimates for the intersurvey period. They are applied to enquiries conducted in Peru, Kenya, and Malawi. This provides improved estimates of recent mortality and also clarifies the nature of the errors that affect the basic data. Age misreporting and other errors affect the information about older respondents and orphanhood of children is sometimes underreported. In contrast, data supplied by young adults seem plausible.