Mortality in Ghana: Evidence from the cape coast project data

Abstract This paper deals with the estimation of mortality for a rural community of about 20,000 persons in the rain-forest area of south-west Ghana. Specifically, infant, child and adult mortality estimates have been obtained by the application of a wide range of direct and indirect methods of measuring mortality from the different statistics collected by a longitudinal mortality and fertility project conducted during 1974-7. It was noted that infant and childhood mortality rates obtained from death registrations were consistent with those rates yielded by pregnancy histories and child survival statistics. However, the adult mortality estimates derived from orphanhood statistics tended to be lower than those suggested by death registrations. The analysis revealed an infant mortality rate of 100 for boys and 84 for girls, equal childhood mortality rates for boys and girls (85-6), a lower expectation of life at birth for men (45.8 years) than for women (52.8), and a much more severe incidence of mortality among men aged over 40 than for women at the corresponding ages.     

Mortality in Ghana: Evidence from the cape coast project data

This paper deals with the estimation of mortality for a rural community of about 20,000 persons in the rain-forest area of south-west Ghana. Specifically, infant, child and adult mortality estimates have been obtained by the application of a wide range of direct and indirect methods of measuring mortality from the different statistics collected by a longitudinal mortality and fertility project conducted during 1974–7. It was noted that infant and childhood mortality rates obtained from death registrations were consistent with those rates yielded by pregnancy histories and child survival statistics. However, the adult mortality estimates derived from orphanhood statistics tended to be lower than those suggested by death registrations. The analysis revealed an infant mortality rate of 100 for boys and 84 for girls, equal childhood mortality rates for boys and girls (85–6), a lower expectation of life at birth for men (45.8 years) than for women (52.8), and a much more severe incidence of mortality among men aged over 40 than for women at the corresponding ages.     

A close look at the demography of Afghanistan

The first survey designed to allow estimates of the demographic characteristics of Afghanistan's sedentary population was conducted during the period 1972-1974. Our analysis of these data, based on recently developed techniques for handling imcomplete or inaccurate data, suggests that this population lives under conditions that are extreme when judged by modern standards. Marriage is early, especially for females, and universal. Marital fertility conforms to a pattern of natural fertility and total fertility is high. The birth rate is among the highest in the world today, and the expectation of life at birth is among the very lowest. Mortality is lower in urban areas than in rural areas, whereas total fertility is approximately the same in both. Our estimates of fertility and mortality imply stable populations which match closely the observed age distributions for both the rural and urban areas.     

Vital rates in India 1961-71 estimated from 1971 census data

Abstract In the last decade the increase in the population of India, while, of course, very large, was smaller than predicted by official forecasts. With the use of recent census and sample registration data - in the absence of age-specific rates and adequate vital statistics - this paper provides estimates of fertility and mortality through the reverse-survival and forward-projection methods. Birth rates are estimated as 40·5-42, death rates as 18-20, and life expectancy at birth as 45-46 years. Mortality decline had been smaller than forecast but more than during any comparable period in the past, even though current mortality levels, particularly infant mortality, are still high. Males continue to have a longer life expectation than females, with a difference that has widened in the past decade. The decline of between seven and ten per cent in the crude birth rate is largely due to changes in marital fertility and to some extent to changes in age and marital composition. Because of greater decline in death rates than birth rates, the 1961-71 decade shows a higher rate of population growth than previous periods.     

Estimates of mortality from infant mortality rates

Estimates of mortality rates and expectation of life at birth, using infant mortality rates, are examined on the basis of 150 life tables for both sexes. Least squares linear estimates are given as well as estimates of their variances. Model life table calculations, as proposed by the U.N. Population Branch, are then compared with these unbiased minimum variance estimates and shown to overestimate the expectation of life by more than two years on the average, and to be at most 68% efficient. Though better estimates are provided in this paper, their variance is still so large as to cast doubt on the practical usefulness of anv estimates based exclusively on infant mortality rates.     

The longevity of Jews in Canada, 1940–1942

A life table for the Jewish population of Canada, based upon their mortality experience during 1940–2, yielded an average length of life (expectation of life at birth) of 67–53 years for males and 69·89 years for females. These figures are greater than those for the general population of Canada by 4·58 years for males and 3·60 years for females. These margins decrease with advance in age; the expectations of life for Jews and for the total Canadian population are equal at age 25 in the case of females, and at age 35 in the case of males.

Jewish infants in Canada start life with a mortality rate, in the first year, only two-fifths of that for the general population. This advantage for Jews is observed through childhood, adolescence, and early maturity. However, the margin between the Jewish and total populations decreased with advance in age until, shortly after age 50, the Jews begin to show the higher mortality rates.

The Jewish populations of the United States and of Canada have great similarities in their social and economic structures. They also share, very largely, in their European origins, and they have come to North America during the same period. It is, therefore, a fair assumption that the longevity and mortality characteristics of the relatively small Jewish population of Canada may be indicative of what might be found for the millions of Jews in the United States, for whom such information is not available.     

Recent trends in mortality in Australia—an analysis of the causes of death through the application of life table techniques

The paper examines the post-1971 reduction in Australian mortality in light of data on causes of death. Multiple-decrement life tables for eleven leading causes of death by sex are calculated and the incidence of each cause of death is presented in terms of the values of the life table functions. The study found that in the overall decline in mortality over the last 20 years significant changes occurred in the contribution of the various causes to total mortality. Among the three leading causes of death, heart disease, malignant neoplasms (cancer), and cerebrovascular disease (stroke), mortality rates due to neoplasms increased and those of the other two causes decreased. The sex-age-cause-specific incidence of mortality changed and the median age at death increased for all causes except for deaths due to motor-vehicle accidents for both sexes and suicide for males. The paper also deciphers the gains in the expectation of life at birth over various time periods and the sex-differentials in the expectation of life at birth at a point in time in terms of the contributions made by the various sex-age-cause-specific mortality rates.     

Estimation of vital rates for Ghana

Abstract A complete and efficient registration system, of the type which would provide good data on births and deaths, does not exist in Ghana. However, registration of vital events is supposed to be compulsory in 39 towns in the country but the data collected in these areas are too inadequate and defective to provide a sound basis for the analysis of the dynamics of population growth. The results of the censuses conducted by the colonial governments are so defective and unreliable that they do not allow scientific research in the field of population analysis. Before 1960, therefore, when the national census and the post-enumeration survey (based on a 5% sample of the population) were carried out, estimates of fertility and mortality levels were little more than guesses. In this study an attempt has been made to utilize the information on the age-sex composition provided by the 1960 census and post-enumeration survey data on births and deaths to determine, as far as possible, the levels of fertility and mortality and the rates of population growth in Ghana. The fertility estimates-i.e. a crude birth rate of 50, total fertility rate of 6.9 and a gross reproduction rate of 3.4-show that Ghana's fertility is one of the highest in the world. An expectation of life at birth of 40 years, an infant mortality of 160 and a crude death rate of 23 appear to be the most plausible estimates. These estimates yield a rate of natural increase of 2.7% and a growth rate of 3.0% per annum.     

20世纪90年代关于我国出生性别比问题的研究

我国在人口生育率下降的过程中出现了较为严重的出生性别比偏高现象。针对这一问题,学术界就我国出生性别比的通常值域、出生性别比偏高的原因进行讨论。这场学术讨论具有非常重要的意义:认识到我国出生性别比是“真性”失衡,为认识和解决这一问题提供了最基本的依据;弄清了我国出生性别比偏高的原因;拓展了我国出生性别比及相关问题的研究范畴;推动了国家有关部门采取措施治理这一问题。     

A reconsideration of negro-white mortality differentials in the united states

This paper summarizes the results of an investigation of the validity of Negro-white mortality differentials as reflected in the series of official United States life tables since the turn of the century. Pertinent excerpts from these often-quoted tables are reproduced in Appendix Table A-1 for convenient reference. The paper divides into two main parts.First, mortality levels and differentials beyond early childhood are derived, without use of the existing vital records, by interpreting the series of ten-year cumulative survival rates implicit in the census records for native whites and for Negroes. The results are in general agreement with the official figures, particularly for males.Second, mortality levels and differentials in early childhood are estimated by extrapolating the official 1)5 values via model life tables; that is, by the analytical procedure that would be followed in the absence of direct information on early childhood mortality. Unless it is assumed that age patterns of death for United States Negroes were extremely deviant from those found in populations with reliable census and vital statistics, one must conclude that the official figures grossly underestimate early childhood mortality for Negroes, at least for the period, 1910-40. It follows that, during those decades, Negro-white mortality differentials in terms of expectation of life at birth were also substantially higher than is suggested by the official estimates.     

A reply to Kim's comment

This reply criticizes Kim's note as incorrectly characterizing the essential feature of the method proposed for life table construction. The method suggested for estimating N(a), the number attaining age 2 during the intercensal period, is to make a separate estimate of the contribution to N (a) made by each single-year cohort that attains 'a' during the period between censuses. Each cohort estimate is constructed by interpolation, utilizing as data the recorded number in the relevant single-year cohorts in the 2 censuses. 2 methods of interpolation were proposed. 1 is an iterative procedure that constructs a preliminary life table by linear interpolation for each cohort and then derives more refined interpolation factors from this preliminary life table. The other procedure derives interpolation factors on the assumption that the proportionate distribution of deaths by age as each cohort moves from the earlier to the later census date is the same as the proportionate distribution of deaths by age over the same age range in a model life table. The advantage of the proposed procedure is that it supplies better estimates of N (a) than do alternative methods. The author concedes that a life table calculated from accurately recorded deaths and an accurately enumerated population would ordinarily be superior. However, he also notes that in the absence of registered deaths data, there is no precise enough conventional method to yield accurate values of average intercensal single-year age-specific mortality rates from nothing more than 2 accurate censuses 11 years apart. A common procedure for calculating life expectation at a very advanced age is to calculate the reciprocal of the death rate among persons over the age in question.     

An empirical study of the effects of socioeconomic development on fertility rates

Recent studies by Adelman and by Friedlander and Silver, which have investigated whether regression equations derived from cross-section data can be used to predict the impact of socioeconomic development on changing levels of fertility, are reviewed critically. Regression analyses based on data for 57 countries c. 1960 show that fertility (gross reproduction rate) varies cross-sectionally with region as well as with level of development (as measured by per capita income, percent labor force in primary sector, expectation of life, illiteracy rate). Using equations derived from the cross-section study and time-series data for five European countries during the period that their fertility rates fell, it is shown that predictions about past fertility changes are in error. The results suggest caution in the use of cross-section relations to predict the course of fertility in developing countries.     

Communication about sex and birth control between mothers and their adolescent children

This paper explores the extent of communication about sex and birth control between mothers and two of their children between the ages of ten and eighteen. Results indicate that mothers are more likely to discuss these issues with their older and female children. Variations in patterns of communication are also examined by mother's education, race, and family income. Since many of the questions were asked of both mothers and children, comparisons are made of mother and child reports of discussions about sexual relations and birth control. Mothers' attitudes toward premarital sex and use of birth control, as well as her own behaviors in these areas are examined for their relationships to whether she communicates with her children about these topics. The relationship between presence of communication and children's knowledge about birth control is also discussed.This article is based on data collected by William and Susan Philliber, and the methodology students of the Department of Sociology, University of Cincinnati. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April 13–15, 1978, Atlanta, Georgia. Requests for reprints should be sent to Pearila Brickner Rothenberg, Center of Population and Family Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, New York, New York 10032.     

Determinants of Life Satisfaction Among Immigrants from Western Countries and from the FSU in Israel

This study examines the integration of immigrants via their satisfaction with life in the new country. While most studies on immigrant integration have focused on objective integration parameters such as education, occupation and salary (e.g., Borjas in Friends or strangers: the impact of immigrants on the US economy. Basic Books, New York, 1990), subjective parameters have traditionally received less attention. However, in recent years it has become increasingly clear that subjective perceptions carry considerable weight in the social-integration process of immigrants (McMichael and Manderson in Human Organ 63(1):88–99, 2004; Massey and Redstone in Soc Sci Q 87(5):954–971, 2006). The study group consists of Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel during the past two decades from two different regions of origin: Western countries, and the Former Soviet Union (FSU). All of these immigrants are generally highly educated and skilled, but they came to Israel from different societies and contrasting motives. The objective of this study is to learn about the integration of these immigrants via their satisfaction with life in Israel and to understand the factors that explain it, taking into account the differences between the immigrant groups. The findings, based on the 2007 Ruppin representative survey data (The data for this study was obtained with the support of the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.), point to significant differences between the two immigrant groups under discussion. Western immigrants are more satisfied with their lives in Israel than FSU immigrants and have higher scores in most of the independent variables tested. The multivariate analyses for predicting an immigrant’s life satisfaction reveal that those reporting the greatest satisfaction are women, religious, with a high standard of living, with no academic education, and stronger Israeli identity (personal and as perceived by others). In addition, different variables play a role in predicting the life satisfaction for each immigrant group. This knowledge may be of service to Israeli policymakers dealing with the immigration and integration of highly skilled immigrants in Israeli society.     

Multidimensional Life Table Estimation of the Total Fertility Rate and Its Components

Using discrete-time survival models of parity progression and illustrative data from the Philippines, this article develops a multivariate multidimensional life table of nuptiality and fertility, the dimensions of which are age, parity, and duration in parity. The measures calculated from this life table include total fertility rate (TRF), total marital fertility rate (TMFR), parity progression ratios (PPR), age-specific fertility rates, mean and median ages at first marriage, mean and median closed birth intervals, and mean and median ages at childbearing by child’s birth order and for all birth orders combined. These measures are referred to collectively as “TFR and its components.” Because the multidimensional life table is multivariate, all measures derived from it are also multivariate in the sense that they can be tabulated by categories or selected values of one socioeconomic variable while controlling for other socioeconomic variables. The methodology is applied to birth history data, in the form of actual birth histories from a fertility survey or reconstructed birth histories derived from a census or household survey. The methodology yields period estimates as well as cohort estimates of the aforementioned measures.     

Regression analysis of the relationship between the birth rate and proportion of first order births in 1981]

Generally speaking, various fertility indicators such as the birth rate, average fertility rate, and total fertility rate have a close relationship. Various regression analyses have also been made by using different data on population statistics to describe their internal relationships. A regression analysis of the relationship between the birth rate and proportion of first order births, however, has not been made. Data collected by family planning staff at various places show that the places with a high rate of first order births normally have a lower birth rate, and the places with a low rate of first order births very often have a high birth rate. From here we may find that the proportion of the first order births is moving in two opposite directions, and there is no determined relationship between them. It is impossible to use one indicator to calculate the other's indicator. Only a regression analysis can be made to study the relationship between the two. The birth rate and proportion of first order births in 1981 showed some negative relationship, but the use of a regression equation should still be restricted. The regression equation between the birth rate and proportion of first order births may reflect a correct relationship when the region and the number of first order births are fixed. Therefore, any factor which has an impact on the number of first order births also has an influence on the use of regression equation.     

Women's knowledge of options for birth after Caesarean Section

ObjectiveIn Australia, the Caesarean Section rate has risen from 21.8% to 31.1% (2010) in a decade; in South Australia the rate was 32.2% in 2009. Caesarean Section is a life saving intervention in certain circumstances, but also a major surgical procedure with potential adverse effects on both mother and baby. The aim of this study was to ascertain the determinants of knowledge regarding options for subsequent birth in women who have experienced a previous Caesarean Section with a live baby.MethodA sample of 33 women in South Australia who had a previous Caesarean Section were surveyed to assess their awareness of birth options and their advantages versus disadvantages as well as the possible factors influencing their information gathering and decision-making on birth options for their subsequent pregnancy.FindingsMost women perceived Caesarean Section to be major surgery but 69.6% were not aware that babies might have problems with breastfeeding, 60.6% did not know the rarity of uterine rupture during labour and/or birth and 48.5% were not aware that a caesarean may involve any complications for the baby at or after birth.ConclusionWomen's knowledge deficits relating to risks and benefits of birth options after previous caesarean can constrain them as most women chose caesarean rather than normal birth in their subsequent pregnancy.     

Relating social welfare to life satisfaction in the postmodern era of Hong Kong

Social welfare is supposedly beneficial not only to the needy receiving it but to citizens in general who expect social welfare to help the needy. Whereas direct benefits to the needy represent the gratification of material needs, the fulfillment of citizens–expectation registers an idealistic path to life satisfaction. These materialistic and idealistic paths may also be useful for explaining citizens–perception about the adequacy of social welfare. The reciprocal relationships between adequacy perception and life satisfaction are subject to an empirical study based on panel survey data obtained from Hong Kong, China. Results lend more support to the idealistic explanation than to the materialistic explanation in that the citizen’s postmodern orientation appeared to moderate the reciprocal relationships in some ways, whereas most of the citizen’s material conditions did not manifest moderating effects. Accordingly, the needy did not benefit from the perceived adequacy of social welfare and their life satisfaction did not have pervasive effects on the perceived adequacy in return. Results support the view that postmodernization would erode citizens–support for social welfare.     

Stable, semi-stable populations and growth potential

Abstract Starting from the definition of a Malthusian population given by Alfred J. Lotka, the author recalls how the concept of stable population is introduced in demography, first as a particular case of stable populations, and secondly as a limit of a demographic evolutionary process in which female age-specific fertility rates and age-specific mortality rates remain constant. Then he defines a new concept: the semi-stable population which is a population with a constant age distribution. He shows that such a population coincides at any point of time with the stable population corresponding to the mortality and the fertility at this point of time. In the remaining part of the paper it is shown how the concept of a stable population can be used for defining a coefficient of inertia which measures the resistance of a population to modification of its course as a consequence of changing fertility and mortality. Some formulae are established to calculate this coefficient first for an arbitrary population, and secondly for a semistable population. In this second case the formula is particularly simple. It appears as a product of three terms: the expectation of life at birth in years, the crude birth rate, and a coefficient depending on the rate of growth and for which a numerical table is easy to establish.     

Born in another country: Women's experience of labour and birth in Queensland,Australia

BackgroundWomen born outside Australia make up more than a fifth of the Queensland birthing population and like migrants in other parts of the world face the challenges of cultural dislocation and possible language barriers. Recognising that labour and birth are major life events the aim was to investigate the experiences of these women in comparison to native-born English speaking women.MethodsSecondary analysis of data from a population based survey of women who had recently birthed in Queensland. Self-reported clinical outcomes and quality of interpersonal care of 481 women born outside Australia who spoke a language other than English at home were compared with those of 5569 Australian born women speaking only English.ResultsAfter adjustment for demographic factors and type of birthing facility, women born in another country were less likely to be induced, but more likely to have constant electronic fetal monitoring (EFM), to give birth lying on their back or side, and to have an episiotomy. Most women felt that they were treated as an individual and with kindness and respect. However, women born outside Australia were less likely to report being looked after ‘very well’ during labour and birth and to be more critical of some aspects of care.ConclusionIn comparing the labour and birth experiences of women born outside the country who spoke another language with native-born English speaking women, the present study presents a largely positive picture. However, there were some marked differences in both clinical and interpersonal aspects of care.