OBJECTIVES To describe recent trends in age at first sex in African countries, identifying and making due allowances for a variety of common reporting errors. METHODS Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data from six African countries conducting three or more surveys since 1985 were analysed using survival analysis techniques, combining information on virginity status and retrospective repor...

A key limitation of existing research on the influence of family structure on child outcomes in cultures characterized by widespread polygamy is the implicit view of marriage as monolithic and by default monogamous. In the African context, there is the need to make a distinction between polygamous and monogamous mothers since these marital circumstances imply varying levels of parental support ...

Methodology A community based descrip ve cross-sec onal study was carried out by medical students during their field placement for nd community diagnosis in Dukuchhap Village of Lalitpur from 22 th November19 December 2017. All 10-19 years adolescent popula on was included in the study. Among the total popula on (2545) study, 474 were adolescent. The data were collected using semi-structured qu...

BACKGROUND Estimates of the period mean age at first birth are readily available for countries with accurate vital statistics (i.e., in much of the developed world). In contrast, in most developing countries vital statistics are lacking or incomplete and estimates of the period mean age at first birth are therefore often unavailable. The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program provides a l...

BACKGROUND Developing effective context-specific strategies to ensure that a high proportion of children receive timely and appropriate care requires knowing the source from which care is sought. Although Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) collect such data in disaggregated form, they are not made available in the standard DHS and MICS reports. ...

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BACKGROUND Girl education is believed to be the best means of reducing girl child marriage (marriage <18 years) globally. However, in South Asia, where the majority of girl child marriages occur, substantial improvements in girl education have not corresponded to equivalent reductions in child marriage. This study examines the levels of education associated with female age at marriage over the ...

The rapid decline of fertility, from over 6.5 births per woman to 3.3 births, in the last two decades in Bangladesh is, indeed, a historic record in demographic transition. The country is poor and has remained traditional and conservative. Although the extent and rapidity of the decrease in fertility have been very impressive by international standards, continued fertility decline is desirable,...

No previous study has attempted to estimate the e¤ect of intrauterine exposure to armed con‡ict, a potential source of stress, on pregnancy outcomes. Drawing on data from the 2004 Palestinian Demographic and Health Survey, we examine the relationship between fatalities caused by Israeli security forces (a measure of con‡ict intensity) and birth weight. Our estimates suggest that …rst-trimester ...

BACKGROUND Wife beating is an important public health problem in many developing countries. We assessed the rates of wife beating and examined factors associated with wife beating in 1995 and 2005 in Egypt. METHODS We used data from two Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in Egypt in 1995 and 2005 using multistage household sampling. Data related to wife beating included informatio...