The Adolescent Data Hub: The Largest Catalog of Open Access Data on Adolescents Living in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries

Abstract

The Adolescent Data Hub (ADH) is the first and largest data catalog specifically developed to focus on open access data on adolescents in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Developed by the Population Council's Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center, and launched in August 2018, the ADH has grown to include more than 750 data sources that fit the inclusion criteria of (1) self‐reported data from females and/or males between ages 10 and 24 years; (2) one or more rounds of data collected in year 2000 or later; (3) data collected in one or more LMICs; (4) data are publicly available for download and use. A dynamic resource, the ADH is regularly updated to include new datasets that meet these criteria. The ADH facilitates access to available data on adolescents for researchers attempting to answer important questions related to the lives of adolescents and for donors and policymakers eager to identify gaps in existing data to inform their future investments.

Smarter Investments in Girls Today to Prepare Them to Thrive Tomorrow

“…18 Limited data are available on other important aspects of adolescents' well-being, such as mental health and nutrition, and on the experiences and risks facing subpopulations, such as sexual and gender minorities. 19 Moreover, despite the overall growth in targeted interventions and scholarly research focused on adolescent girls, variation in study design and mixed results often undermine the drawing of clear, accurate conclusions. Evaluations of the most common interventions for adolescent girls-such as peer education, comprehensive sexuality education, youth-friendly health services, and community-based girl group programs-explore a wide range of outcomes and use varying impact measures.…”