Open Access This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http:// creativecommons. o...

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...

We use a set of linked reproductive histories taken from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain for the period 1871-1960 to address key issues regarding how reproductive change was linked specifically to mortality and survivorship and more generally to individual agency. Using event-history analysis, this study investigates how the propensity to have additional children was influenced by the number...

Neonatal mortality declined 17 per cent in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2005 Demographic and Health Survey, infant mortality declined 21 per cent and underfive mortality declined 26 per cent. However, mortality rates are still high but birth interval, breastfeeding and birth order reflect strong neonatal and postneonatal mortality decline in many regions. Birth order, mother’s age at childbirth, l...

BACKGROUND Over the past several decades the efforts to improve maternal survival and the consequent demand for accurate estimates of maternal mortality have increased. However, measuring maternal mortality remains a difficult task especially in developing countries with weak information systems. Sibling histories included in household surveys (most notably the Demographic and Health Surveys (D...

BACKGROUND The responsibility of caring for relatives with mental illness often falls on the family members. It has been reported that the reactions to or consequences of providing care are what rendered the role of a caregiver challenging and hence a source of distress. This present study thus aimed to identify socio-demographic correlates of caregiving experiences using the Caregiver Reaction...

BACKGROUND Antibiotic treatment for pneumonia as measured by Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is a key indicator for tracking progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Concerns about the validity of this indicator led us to perform an evaluation in urban and rural settings in Pakistan and Bangladesh. METHODS AND FINDINGS Caregivers ...