Measuring Subjective Wellbeing in Developing Countries.

The paper explores the conceptual and methodological issues entailed in using subjective measures of well-being in developing countries. In the first part I define, situate and contrast subjective quality of life (QoL), subjective well-being (SWB), and well-being. I also look at the conceptual and methodological shortcomings of subjective measures of well-being and suggest ways of overcoming these by combining different approaches. I then explore how an expanded concept of subjective quality of life fits into the theoretical framework of the UK-based Well-being in Developing Countries study (or WeD), specifically how it plans to produce a new, “development-related” profile of quality of life, drawing on the methodology of the WHOQOL group (1995; 1998)

Universal coverage but unequal access? Factors affecting the use of health services in Northeast & South Thailand.

Abstract Thailand’s rapid economic growth has brought health challenges as well as benefits, namely a rise in life expectancy to 6.5 years above the global average, and an ‘epidemiological transition’ from infectious and deficiency diseases, to chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. Previous research in Northeast and South Thailand by the Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC Research Group demonstrates the importance of health to people’s subjective quality of life and wellbeing, and suggests that ill health is a significant problem - nearly a fifth of households in WeD sites experienced severe health-related ‘shocks’ during the past five years, and a third of household heads defined themselves as chronically ill. In 2001 the Government of Thailand introduced the Universal Health Coverage scheme to offer near-universal health care coverage. However, while this has reduced ‘out of pocket’ expenditures for healthcare and impoverishment through ‘catastrophic expenditures’, the perceived quality of its services mean it is in danger of becoming little more than a safety net and failing to ameliorate existing inequalities. This proposition is explored using the results of large-scale qualitative health study carried out by WeD with 245 men and women from different age groups and socio-economic statuses in Northeast and South Thailand, supplemented by WeD household survey data. The paper is divided into three parts; the first briefly introduces Thailand and the WeD sites, and describes the sampling and methodology. It also reviews current discourses about health and health issues in Thailand, and outlines the context to health and health services. The second presents data from the qualitative health research covering health risks, and the incidence and impacts of chronic illness and disability. The final section looks at the health seeking behaviour of people in the WeD sites (illustrated with case studies), focusing particularly on use of the UHC and traditional medicine

Outcomes of Orphanhood in Ethiopia: A Mixed Methods Study

The paper addresses the question of whether parental death always has a strongly negative effect on children’s outcomes using quantitative and qualitative data from Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia. It investigates the validity of potential mediating factors identified by other studies in Sub-Saharan Africa using data from the whole sample (n = 973) and explores these processes in-depth through the experiences of three orphans in one community in Addis Ababa. The paper concludes that the outcomes of orphans and non-orphans in poor communities are not significantly different, supporting the need to address vulnerability at a societal level. Nonetheless, specific groups, for example, older female children who have lost their mothers, may face particular risks that should be addressed with targeted interventions

What role for qualitative methods in randomised experiments?

The vibrant debate on randomized experiments within international development has been slow to accept a role for qualitative methods within research designs. Whilst there are examples of how „field visits? or descriptive analyses of context can play a complementary, but secondary, role to quantitative methods, little attention has been paid to the possibility of randomized experiments that allow a primary role to qualitative methods. This paper assesses whether a range of qualitative methods compromise the internal and external validity criteria of randomized experiments. It suggests that life history interviews have advantages over other qualitative methods, and offers one alternative to the conventional survey tool

The Evolution of Student Engagement: Writing Improves Teaching in Introductory Biology

In response to calls for pedagogical reforms in undergraduate biology courses to decrease student attrition rates and increase active learning, this article describes one faculty member’s conversion from traditional teaching methods to more engaging forms of practice. Partially told as a narrative, this article illustrates a.) the way many faculty initially learn to teach by modeling the pedagogy from their own undergraduate programs; b.) the kind of support biology faculty may need to break out of traditional molds; c.) how writing can promote active learning; and d.) the impact of reformed pedagogy on student levels of engagement. The latter will be demonstrated through assessment results gathered from student surveys, reflective writing, and focus group interview. Ultimately, the study challenges misunderstandings some faculty might have regarding the value of writing in science classes and offers inspiration, urging critical reflection and persistence

Household trajectories in rural Ethiopia – what can a mixed method approach tell us about the impact of poverty on children?

The paper explores the dynamics of child and household poverty in rural Ethiopia using three rounds of household survey and qualitative data collected by Young Lives, a longitudinal study of child poverty. It uses a mixed-method taxonomy of poverty (Roelen and Camfield 2011) to classify children and their households into four groups: ultra-poor, poor, near-poor and non-poor. Survey and qualitative data are then used to analyse the movements in and out of poverty and explore the factors that underpin these movements. The use of mixed methods in both the identification of the poor and analysis of their mobility illustrates that the combined use of qualitative and quantitative information can lead to deeper insights and understandings. The paper reports a reduction in the percentage of poor households from 50 to 20 percent between rounds 1 and 3 (2002-9), following the ‘stages of progress’ posited in Roelen and Camfield (2011). However, these changes were not unequivocally beneficial to children (for example, the acquisition of livestock might mean dropping out of school to herd them). Ultra-poverty proved persistent with little change in the circumstances of the one in ten households classified as ultra-poor, who were vulnerable to illness, lending or ‘sharecropping-out’ land on unfavourable terms and exclusion from the government’s food-for-work scheme

Injuries from seizures are a serious, persistent problem in childhood onset epilepsy: A population-based study

AbstractPurposeDocument the frequency, types and risk factors for injuries caused by seizures for people with childhood onset epilepsy.MethodWe contacted patients with all types of epilepsy except childhood absence from the Nova Scotia Childhood Epilepsy population-based cohort. Seizure onset was between 1977 and 1985. Patients and parents were asked about serious injuries resulting from a seizure, defined as severe enough for an urgent physician or dentist visit.ResultsOf 595 eligible patients, we contacted 472 (79%). During an average follow up of 23.9±8 years, 52 (11%) experienced ≥1 serious injury for a total of 81 injuries. Of all injuries, 24 (30%) were lacerations requiring sutures, 15 (19%) fractures, 11 (14%) broken teeth, 8 (10%) concussions, 4 (5%) burns, and 20 (25%) other. “Other” included 1 fatal drowning, 2 near-drownings, 3 shoulder dislocations and 1 severe eye injury. Four injuries occurred with the first seizure; all others after a long gap from seizure onset (range 1.5–30 years). Injuries occurred in all epilepsy syndromes, most commonly with symptomatic generalized epilepsy (17% vs. 11% p=0.03) and intractable epilepsy (28% vs. 8% p<0.0001). Most injuries occurred during normal daily activities and were judged not to be easily preventable.ConclusionsDuring ∼24 years of follow up 1 out of 10 patients with childhood onset epilepsy had a serious injury as the result of a seizure. Most injuries occurred years after the initial diagnosis and were more common when seizures were more frequent. The only practical solution to injury prevention is better seizure control