Health outcomes in poor countries and policy options : empirical findings from demographic and health surveys

Empirical studies on health at a disaggregate level-by socioeconomic group or geographic location-can provide useful information for designing poverty-focused interventions. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, the author investigates the determinants of health outcomes in low-income countries both at the national level, and for rural and urban areas separately. DHS data from more than 60 low-income countries between 1990 and 1999 reveal two interesting observations. First is the negative association between the level and inequality in child mortality. Second is the significant gap in child mortality between urban and rural areas, with the rural population having a much slower reduction in mortality compared with the urban population. Given that the poor are mainly concentrated in rural areas, the evidence suggests that health interventions implemented in the past decade may not have been as effective as intended in reaching the poor. The empirical findings in this study consolidate results from earlier studies and add new evidence. the author finds that at the national level access to electricity, vaccination in the first year of life, and public health expenditure can significantly reduce child mortality. The electricity effect is shown to be independent of income. In urban areas only access to electricity has a significant health impact, while in rural areas increasing vaccination coverage is important for mortality reduction.Health Economics&Finance,Early Child and Children's Health,Health Systems Development&Reform,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Economics&Finance,Health Systems Development&Reform,Poverty Assessment,Statistical&Mathematical Sciences

Environmental determinants of child mortality in rural china : A competing risks approach

We use a competing risk model to analyze environmental determinants of child mortality using the 1992 China National Health Survey, which collects information on cause of death. Our primary question is whether taking into account of cause of death using a competing risk model, compared with a simple model of all-cause mortality, affects conclusions about the effectiveness of policy interventions. There are two potential analytical advantages in using cause of death information: (1) obtaining more accurate estimates and (2) validating causal relationships. Although, we do not find significant differences between estimates obtained from the competing risk model and those from simpler hazard models, we do find evidence supporting the causal interpretations of the effect of access to safe water on child mortality. Our analysis also suggests that a respondent-based health survey can be used to collect relatively reliable information on cause of death. Modifying future demographic and health survey (DHS) instruments to collect cause of death information inexpensively may be worthwhile for enhancing the analytical strength of the DHS.Disease Control&Prevention,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Public Health Promotion,Decentralization,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Demographics,Health Economics&Finance,Town Water Supply and Sanitation

Cosmological Signature of New Parity-Violating Interactions

Does Nature yield any manifestations of parity violation other than those observed in weak interactions? A map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization will provide a new signature of P violation. We give two examples of new P violating interactions, which may have something to do with Planck-scale physics, inflation, and/or quintessence, that would give rise to such a signature. Although these effects would most likely elude detection by MAP and the Planck Surveyor, they may be detectable with a future dedicated CMB polarization experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Origin of new terms clarified, to be published in Physical Review Letter