infant mortality rate

infant mortality rate Chapter 4 Methodology 4.1 Infant Mortality Rate: Definition and Estimation Approaches Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths occurring in the first year of life per 1,000 live births. It measures the probability of a child born in a specific year will die before reaching the age of one (World Bank, 2008). The IMR are estimated using two approaches including a direct and indirect method. Choice of methods used to estimate the IMR depends on availability and reliability of data source on infant deaths. Reliable data to estimate infant mortality rates mainly come from two data sources. The first is a vital registration system. It is a preferred source of data on infant mortality because it records all information about live births and deaths on prospective basis where a live birth or death is directly reported after it occurs. This makes vital registration system always inform statistical records of live births and deaths based on the actual condition of the population. As a result, it will provide more reliable and accurate data on infant mortality. However, an accurate vital registration system have not yet established for large part of the world, especially in developing countries. Then, it calls for an alternative source in order to estimate the IMR. The alternative source of data on infant mortality is household surveys. In the surveys, the women of fertility age are asked to answer some questions about births and deaths of children born to them. From this information, the fertility histories then can be constructed. There are two types of the fertility histories. They are a complete or truncated fertility history and incomplete or summary fertility history (World Bank, 2008). A complete fertility history uncovers the dates of births, survival status and date or age at death of all children born to the interviewed woman. On the other hand, an incomplete fertility history reveals only the number of children ever born and the number still alive or the number who have died. In order to estimate infant mortality rate, a direct method requires data for each childs date of birth, survival status, and date or age at death. This information can be found both in vital registration systems and in household surveys with complete fertility histories. In contrast, an indirect method requires less data that can be found in household surveys that do not collect detailed fertility histories. The only information required are: the number of children ever born, the number of children surviving (or dead), and the total number of women classified by five year age groups. The indirect approach uses the Brass method, after William Brass who developed a procedure to convert the proportion of death among children ever born reported by women in the age groups into estimates of the probability of dying before a certain age. Brasss method assumes that the age of the mother can function as a proxy for the age of her children and therefore for how long they have been exposed to the risk of dying (Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2007). The procedures to calculate infant mortality rate using the indirect method can be explained as follows. Step 1. Calculation of average parity per woman Step 2. Calculation of the proportion dead among children ever born Step 3. Calculation of the multipliers, k(i) Step 4. Calculation of the probability of dying by age x, q(x) Step 5. Calculation of the reference dates for q(x), t (x) However, the indirect method has several limitations. First, it requires model life tables to adjust the data for the age pattern of mortality in the general population. Choosing an appropriate life table to a specific population is important to generating accurate estimates (Ahmad et al., 2000). The Coale-Demeny model life tables utilized to adjust the data are derived largely from European experience that may not fit population in sub-Sahara Africa for instance. Second, the Brass method assumes that fertility and child mortality have remained constant in the recent past. If, for example, fertility has been changing, the ratios of average parities and age pattern of childbearing will be affected. As a result, it will lead to over or under estimate of child mortality (United Nations, 1983). In this paper, data to estimate provinces infant mortality rates come from Indonesias socio-economic household survey (Susenas) data from 2001 to 2006. Susenas data provides information about: (i) the number of children ever born, (ii) the number of children surviving, and (iii) the total number of women classified by five-year age groups. Based on this data, infant mortality rates are calculated using the United Nations software, QFIVE. One should be noted that since the study period of this paper only six years, the fertility patterns across provinces are likely remain constant. This study period is too short for any meaningful changes in fertility to materialize. As a result, infant mortality rates are reliable to be used for the further analysis. 4.2 Data The empirical analysis in this paper uses a balanced panel of 25 Indonesian Provinces during the period 2001-2006, for which complete data can be found from three sources. The first is Indonesias socio-economic household survey (Susenas), which provides information on household characteristics and the presence of skilled birth attendant at delivery. The Susenas data also contains information that can be used to calculate infant mortality rates with the indirect method. The Susenas data for this paper are available from 2001 to 2006. The second source is the Ministry of Finance (MoF) data. It records district expenditure that can be broken down by sector, including health. It is then divided into two types of health expenditure, routine and development expenditure. Since the Indonesian government changed the financial report format for provincial and district level spending according to Government Regulation Number 24 year 2005 about Governmental Accounting Standard, time consistent data for public expenditure on health are available only for 2001 to 2004. The last source is Ministry of Health (MoH) data on the ratio of puskesmas per 100,000 inhabitants as proxy for health care supply provided by government. This data are available for every province from 2001 to 1006. This information is taken from various years of Indonesia Health Profile published by the MoH. This study combines these three data sources to construct a panel data set. In order to simplify the analysis, these data aggregated into province level. It also aims to make infant mortality rates feasible to be calculated. Four provinces are excluded from analysis since they do not have complete data namely Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, North Maluku, Maluku, Papua, and DKI Jakarta. A balance panel then consist of 25 Indonesia provinces during the period 2001-2006. Table 4.1 lists the variables with their definitions and sources. 4.3 Econometric Model This paper first estimates a regression model examining the effect of public health spending on infant mortality, and then it explores the relationship between the public health spending on skilled birth attendance. Finally, this study will investigate whether infant mortality is affected by skilled birth attendance. This paper introduces a fixed effect parameter in order to capture unobserved heterogeneity associated with the provinces and a time specific effects. Representing the provinces by the subscript i and the year of observations available by the subscript t, the relationship between IMR and public health spending is specified as Hit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1 Sit + ÃŽ ²2 Xit + ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ´t + ÃŽ µit where H is log infant mortality and S is per capita total public health expenditure. X is a set of control variables, which include average house ownership in the province as proxy of average province welfare, the fraction of population living in rural area, the proportion of households with a closed sewage disposal system, and mothers level of education. This model also controls for the ratio of puskesmas per 100,000 inhabitants as proxy of health care supply provided by government. Time specific effects, represented in dt, are captured by a dummy variables for each year. This term incorporates average trends associated with economic development, for instance technological progress. The province fixed effect ai, captures all unobserved, time invariant factors that might affect infant mortality rates, for examples geographical features and wide variations on cultural perspectives on how to care for newborn children. The second model investigates the role of public health spending on skilled birth attendance. This model also examines role of the intermediate effect on utilization of skilled birth attendance as transmission channel through which public health spending may affect infant mortality rate. The model is Uit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1 Sit + ÃŽ ²2 Xit + ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ´t + ÃŽ µit where U is utilization of skilled birth attendance, and X are control variables including average house ownership in the province, the fraction of population living in rural area, household size, mothers education and puskesmas coverage. Finally, in order to identify the effect of skilled birth attendance on infant mortality, this paper is examining the following model: Hit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1 Uit + ÃŽ ²2 Xit + ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ´t + ÃŽ µit where the control variables X are the same as in first equation.

Main differences between British and American English Essay

American English is now different from its British mother and we could say it is more than another dialect due to its importance nowadays. At the beginning of its history, after the American emancipation, there were two opposite attitudes towards the language: those who wanted to eradicate any legacy from the colonization and did not want a British model for their language and those who felt language loyalty towards mother- English. But finally, as in many British colonies, linguistic emancipation was a consequence of politics. The growing importance of American English is also due to politics: after World War II, when the United States assumed a more global role and had greater influence in fields such as economic, technological and political, America became a linguistic model. As well as this American English has a dominant influence in the world because in US there is 70% of the native English speakers’ population, for its big publishing industry and mass media technology and for the magnitude of higher education. The main differences between British English and American English are pronunciation, spelling and lexicon. However, syntax is not a big difference. Now we are going to have a glimpse at each, illustrating them with some examples. Referring to pronunciation we can settle some basic parameters to see the difference between dialects. First we have the merger of [I] and [a] before nasal consonants, makes pin and pen homophones in the American dialect. Many words that used to be stressed on their second syllable are now stressed in their first syllable (like reconcile) but in America nowadays this process is even more rapid. Words like cigar, hotel and Detroit are now front-stressed. Then there is the deletion or reduction of weakly stressed syllables, a process that has been really important in English phonetics and that now is extending throughout the States. An example of that would be fence from defense or ‘lectricity for electricity. Now let us have a look at spelling. Generally American English -or as a word ending is -our in British English like in color- colour and American English -er is usually equivalent to -re in British English, like in center and centre . In American English the final e is removed form verbs when making the gerund whereas in British English is not usual, like routing and routeing (US-UK) and another common difference is that American prefer -ization and -ize instead of the British -isation and -ise, for example organization- organize (Am.) and organise- organisation ( Br.). Probably the major difference between these two varieties is vocabulary, so words and idioms are quite distant. American lexicon is different because at first Americans had to name things that did not exist in Britain and then, for geographic reasons, it started changing and having its own criteria. Some words mean different things in the two varieties, for instance mean is â€Å"not generous† in British English and â€Å"angry, bad humoured† in American, rubber is â€Å"a tool to erase pencil† in British English and â€Å"a condom† in American English. These differences are on dictionaries but many vocabulary terms are used in a single form for each variety and then we can say it is the biggest difference between American and British. For example we can have trunk in American and lorry in British. Besides that, American English has reinforced archaic words such as maybe, which are not usual in Britain. Syntax is the most similar characteristic between these two dialects, but it also has some peculiarities in American English. To start with, double negation is possible and in British it is not. e.g.: I don’t have no money vs. I don’t have any money. Then, in American English there is a variation in the structure of indirect questions, which can be done as it follows: she asked him did he do it. Also the pronoun system varies: in general they are used in the nominative case , as a consequence I, she, he and we are prepositional or verbal objects. Referring to tenses there is a difference in the present perfect, which in British English is used to express and action that has occurred in the recent past and that continues in the present somehow. For example I’ve lost my key would be okay in American English but it is also possible I lost my  key, which is not correct in Britain. To express possession, while both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn’t got, etc.) is the usual form in British English while American English uses the have (do you have, he doesn’t have etc.)

Obesity in African American Culture Essay

?Obesity has more that just a physical effect on the body. Obesity also greatly affects the mental and emotional part of the body as well. Although you cannot directly correlate metal and emotional health to obesity, you can see that its effects do in fact play a role in the mental and emotional health of an obese person. While the effects of obesity do indeed reach out to all races, it is easy to see that mental and emotional problems from obesity in the African American culture are present in the culture. Depression, anxiety, and discrimination, are all results that are caused by obesity in the African American community. Many people are familiar with depression, whether it be a friend or family member that went through it or that they themselves went though it. â€Å"Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can have a negative effect on a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings, world view and physical well-being† (Salmans 1997). African American obesity has a close tie with depression in African American people. When people are self-conscious about their weight they may think that people look down on them for this. This would cause them to think less of themselves or believe that others are better then them. In turn it can cause the obese African American to have a bad view of themselves, other people, and the world in general. This is exactly what depression is. You can see that depression can be caused by obesity in the African American culture. Anxiety is another emotional distress many people are familiar with. Anxiety is know as, â€Å"the displeasing feeling of fear and concern† (Davison 2008). Many people have felt the effects of anxiety in their own lives, whether it is before an important test, a speech in front of many people, or the big gam; many people feel anxiety. Looking only at anxiety caused by obesity in African American people is a different situation. Anxiety or nervousness before a big event is common and in many ways healthy because it motivates us to do the very best we can. Anxiety in African Americans because of obesity is not healthy; in fact it can be dangerous and destructive. By feeling displeased and concerned about their weight African Americans can struggle all through out life to over come these feelings. It could limit their goals and overall make them settle for less then they really can do. Anxiety do to obesity in the African American community is not a healthy and can severely constrain someone’s life. Discrimination in the African American community has always been a problem through out history. Slavery is a very obvious product of discrimination. Taking a more specific look at discrimination of the African American community because of obesity is a different situation. When people discriminate African Americans because of their weight it seriously prohibits their chances of succeeding in life. It could be in the work place or at school. By placing these barriers we are limiting the ability of the African American community and hurting their chances of having a successful and meaningful life. These mental and emotional effects of obesity in the African American community are unfair and wrong. People should not be judged on their weight. Davison, Gerald C. (2008). Abnormal Psychology. Toronto: Veronica Visentin. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-470-84072-6. Salmans, Sandra (1997). Depression: Questions You Have – Answers You Need. People’s Medical Society. ISBN 978-1-882606-14-6.

Revenue Allocation Formula in Nigeria - 2406 Words

REVENUE ALLOCATION FORMULA IN NIGERIA INTRODUCTION Prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, other sectors of the economy thrived. Agriculture, for instance, was a major source of revenue for the Western Region. The Eastern Region that was less endowed devised other sources of revenue. All this has however changed since the discovery of oil in the country. This has led to the demise of the other productive sectors of the economy. In fact, Nigerians are poorer today than they were in the pre-oil boom days. This is mainly because of the methodology of sharing the oil revenue. The struggle for the control of the oil wealth has led to an unfortunate shift from a revenue-oriented principle to an expenditure-oriented principle of revenue†¦show more content†¦What this arrangement implies is that Nigerians could live and work in any part of the country. Therefore should the South-South region develop substantially, as a result of the 25-50% revenue allocation from oil, all Nigerians will benefit from it. By this I mean that Nigeria ns from any part of the federation could move to the region to work and to contribute to the growth of the area. After all, Nigerians from the south who were domiciled in the north and operated their businesses in the region have been part of the engine of development both in the pre- and post- civil war eras. In the same vein, too, northerners who might migrate to the South-South zone will also participate in the areas development. In all, that bargaining and compromising are central tenets of a democratic dispensation should not be lost in the present political fury to promote individual, parochial and regional centrifugal interests at the expense of national cohesion. The revenue and resources generated in the country are shared among three tiers of government: Federal, state and local government according to their constitutional responsibilities. The internal autonomy of 1946 coupled with the sharing of constitutional responsibilities raised the problem of revenue allocation in Nigeria. In an effort to find an acceptable formulae for sharing of revenue in Nigeria, as many as mine commissions were set up between 1946 and 1988. The revenueShow MoreRelatedRevenue Allocation System in Nigeria Pre- Independence.3775 Words   |  16 PagesIntroduction Nigeria is Africa’s leading producer of oil and the seventh largest producer of crude oil in the world, and equally endowed with other numerous natural resources. But rather than utilizing its resources for maximum development, the country is unfortunately bedevilled with how to efficiently and effectively distribute oil revenues in an equitable manner. 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