The evolution of socioeconomic status-related inequalities in maternal health care utilization: evidence from Zimbabwe, 1994-2011

Background: Inequalities in maternal health care are pervasive in the developing world, a fact that has led to questions about the extent of these disparities across socioeconomic groups. Despite a growing literature on maternal health across Sub-Saharan African countries, relatively little is known about the evolution of these inequalities over time for specific countries. This study sought to quantify and explain the observed differences in prenatal care use and professional delivery assistance in Zimbabwe. Methods: The empirical analysis uses four rounds of the nationwide Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey administered in 1994, 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. Two binary indicators were used as measures of maternal health care utilization; (1) the receipt of four or more antenatal care visits and (2) receiving professional delivery assistance for the most recent pregnancy. We measure inequalities in maternal health care use using the Erreygers corrected concentration index. A decomposition analysis was conducted to determine the underlying drivers of the measured disparities. Results: The computed concentration indices for professional delivery assistance and prenatal care reveal a mostly pro-rich distribution of inequalities between 1994 and 2011. Particularly, the concentration index [95% confidence interval] for the receipt of prenatal care was 0.111 [0.056, 0.171] in 2005/06 and 0.094 [0.057, 0.138] in 2010/11. For professional delivery assistance, the concentration index stood at 0.286 [0.244, 0.329] in 2005/06 and 0.324 [0.283, 0.366] in 2010/11. The pro-rich inequality was also increasing in both rural and urban areas over time. The decomposition exercise revealed that wealth, education, religion and information access were the underlying drivers of the observed inequalities in maternal health care. Conclusions: In Zimbabwe, socioeconomic disparities in maternal health care use are mostly pro-rich and have widened over time regardless of the location of residence. Overall, we established that inequalities in wealth and education are amongst the top drivers of the observed disparities in maternal health care. These findings suggest that addressing inequalities in maternal health care utilization requires coordinated public policies targeting the more poor and vulnerable segments of the population in Zimbabwe

Efficacy of the Principal Components Analysis Techniques Using Simulation Data and the Associated Pedagogical Implications

The overall purposes of this paper are twofold. First, to demonstrate the generation of artificial data using two computer programs, RANCORR (Hong, 1999) and the Multivariate Normal Data Generator (MNDG) (Brooks, 2002). Second, the paper reports results of principal components analysis after the artificial data were submitted to three commonly used procedures; scree plot, Kaiser rule, and modified Horn’s parallel analysis, and demonstrate the pedagogical utility of using artificial data in teaching advanced quantitative concepts. The results showed that all three procedures successfully extracted the components built into the data. Findings in this paper could be useful pedagogical tools to teach the concepts associated with principal components analysis to quantitative researchers

The relationship between teaching practices and students' achievement in mathematics in Lesotho

Research has found that teaching practices are a critical factor in promoting student achievement in mathematics and may therefore explain a substantial portion of the variance in student learning and achievement. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between student achievement in mathematics and teachers’ teaching practices in the Maseru District in Lesotho, Southern Africa. A self-report instrument - Mathematics Teaching Opinionate Scale (MaTOS) - was used to collect data from 40 Form C (Grade 10) mathematics teachers about their teaching practices. This paper outlines correlations found between specific teaching practices (formal presentation, teacher-guided discussion, group work and homework) and student achievement in mathematics. Possible implications of these correlations are discussed and recommendations for further research are put forward