Design and field methods of the ARISE Network Adolescent Health Study Anne Marie Darling 1 , Nega Assefa 2 , Till B€ arnighausen 1,3,4 , Yemane Berhane 5 , Chelsey R. Canavan 1 , David Guwatudde 6 , Japhet Killewo 7 , Ayoade Oduola 8 , Mary M. Sando 9 , Ali Sie 10 , Christopher Sudfeld 1 , Said Vuai 11 , Richard Adanu 12 and Wafaie W. Fawzi 1 1 Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA 2 School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia 3 Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany 4 Africa Health Research Institute, Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 5 Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda 7 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 8 University of Ibadan Research Foundation, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria 9 Africa Academy for Public Health, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 10 Nouna Health Research Center, Nouna, Burkina Faso 11 College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania 12 Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Accra, Ghana Summary The ARISE Network Adolescent Health Study is an exploratory, community-based survey of 8075 adolescents aged 10–19 in 9 communities in 7 countries: Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Communities were selected opportunistically and existing population cohorts maintained by health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSSs). The study is intended to serve as a first round of data collection for African adolescent cohorts, with the overarching goal of generating community-based data on health-related behaviours and associated risk factors in adolescents, to identify disease burdens and health intervention opportunities. Household-based sampling frames were used in each community to randomly select eligible adolescents (aged 10– 19 years). Data were collected between July 2015 and December 2017. Consenting participants completed face-to-face interviews with trained research assistants using a standardised questionnaire, which covered physical activity, cigarette and tobacco use, substance and drug use, mental health, sexual behaviours and practices, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, food security and food diversity, teeth cleaning and hand washing, feelings and friendship, school and home activities, physical attacks and injuries, health care, health status assessment and life satisfaction, as well as media and cell phone use and socio-demographic and economic background characteristics. Results from this multi-community study serve to identify major adolescent health risks and disease burdens, as well as opportunities for interventions and improvements through policy changes. keywords adolescent health, community-based survey, multi-country study, cohort study, sub- Saharan Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equity), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) Introduction Numbering 1.2 billion strong, adolescents comprise the largest generation in history [1]. The vast majority (90%) of them reside in low-and middle-income settings. Invest- ing in the health of this age group has the potential to transform their lives and generate high economic and social returns for them and their future offspring. Popula- tion projections suggest that the number of individuals aged 10–24 in sub-Saharan Africa will increase to 436 million by 2025 and to 605 million by 2050.[2] Increased focus on the health risks they encounter during this © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 5 Tropical Medicine and International Health doi:10.1111/tmi.13327 volume 25 no 1 pp 5–14 january 2020