The study analyzes the spatial clustering and risk factors of infant mortality across high-focus states of India, using the Annual Health Survey (2010–2011), Census of India (2011), and District Level Household and Facility Survey-3 (2007–2008). Research has found substantial spatial autocorrelation across the districts and identified the “hot spots” characterized by higher infant mortality rat...

BACKGROUND Malnutrition is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity among under-five children in Sub Saharan Africa. To understand the factors associated with malnutrition among under-five children, a study was conducted in Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts of Uganda. METHOD Cross sectional secondary data of 104 underfive children in Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts was used. Epi...

BACKGROUND Direct estimates of measles mortality in India are unavailable. Our objective is, to use a nationally-representative study of mortality to estimate the number and distribution of, measles deaths in India with a focus on 264 high burden districts. METHODS We used physician coded verbal autopsy data from the Million Death Study which surveyed, over 12,000 deaths in children aged 1 mo...

BACKGROUND Understanding the socioeconomic and regional divides in disability prevalence in India has considerable relevance for designing public health policies and programs. OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study is to quantify the prevalence of disability by gender, region (rural and urban; states and districts), and caste. We also examine the association between disability prevalence and...

PROBLEM Lymphatic filariasis and podoconiosis are the major causes of tropical lymphoedema in Ethiopia. The diseases require a similar provision of care, but until recently the Ethiopian health system did not integrate the morbidity management. APPROACH To establish health-care services for integrated lymphoedema morbidity management, the health ministry and partners used existing governmenta...

BACKGROUND India has the largest number of child deaths of any country in the world, and has wide local variation in under-5 mortality. Worldwide achievement of the UN 2015 Millennium Development Goal for under-5 mortality (MDG 4) will depend on progress in the subregions of India. We aimed to estimate neonatal, 1-59 months, and overall under-5 mortality by sex for 597 Indian districts and to a...

OBJECTIVES A national survey in 1997 demonstrated that trachoma was endemic in Mali. Interventions to control trachoma including mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin were launched in the regions of Kayes and Koulikoro in 2003. MDA was discontinued after three annual rounds in 2006, and an impact survey conducted. We resurveyed all districts in Kayes and Koulikoro in 2009 to reassess...

Background: The development of wind energy in western Oklahoma has expanded dramatically in recent years, as the amount of installed capacity has gone from 0 in 2002 to enough turbines to generate approximately 20% of Oklahoma’s electrical needs in 2016. Associated with that development has been an increase in tax revenue and support for local schools, including many in struggling areas. This p...

In the 2012 election for the US House of Representatives, only four of North Carolina’s thirteen congressional districts elected a democrat, despite a majority democratic vote. This raises the question of whether gerrymandering, the process of drawing districts to favor a political party, was employed. This study explores election outcomes under different choices of district boundaries. We repr...

Introduction Fifty-three percent of Indian under-5 deaths occur during the neonatal age group. Recognizing that there is a lack of illustrated district-level data on neonatal mortality in India, we mapped this to visually highlight districts where neonatal health issues require the most attention. Methods District-level estimates of 596 Indian districts were used to generate maps and to illus...