Public Health Commons^™

Schooling Opportunities For Girls As A Stimulus For Fertility Change In Rural Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Cem Mete, Minhaj Ul Haque

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper tests Caldwell’s mass schooling hypothesis in the context of rural Pakistan. His hypothesis was that the onset of the fertility transition is closely linked to the achievement of “mass formal schooling” of boys and girls. Punjab and Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) were selected for this study because they appear to be on the leading edge of the demographic transition-a transition that has only recently begun-as suggested by rapid recent increases in contraceptive practice. The study covered a range of rural villages or communities with very different socioeconomic and schooling conditions in order to examine the effects of both …

Adolescents And Reproductive Health In Pakistan: A Literature Review, Ayesha Khan

Reproductive Health

This report reviews research and findings on adolescents and reproductive health in Pakistan. The material is drawn from a range of national surveys and medical research, as well as information gathered by nongovernmental organizations. Although adolescents make up a quarter of the population of Pakistan, they are still a new subject for research. The characterization of adolescents for this review is individuals ages 10–19, whether or not they are married, sexually active, or parents. The discussion of the research material is based on the assumption that adolescence is a developmental phase, a transition from childhood to adulthood. Basic data on …

Greater Investments In Children Through Women's Empowerment: A Key To Demographic Change In Pakistan?, Valerie L. Durrant, Zeba Sathar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Women’s status has received considerable attention as a significant factor in demographic behavior and outcomes in South Asia however, little research has addressed the links between women’s status and their investments in children. In this paper, we empirically investigate how women’s status on multiple levels is associated with demographic outcomes. Using data from the Pakistan Status of Women and Fertility Survey in rural Punjab, we confirm that empowered women, or those with higher status, are better able to make positive investments in their children, thus increasing their children’s chances of survival during infancy and increasing their likelihood of ever attending …

Economic Development And Health Status Among The Poor In Squatter Settlements Of Karachi., Fauziah Rabbani, Anwer T. Merchant

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE:

Socioeconomic status is an important determinant of health outcome measures. This study examines and presents some of the important health outcomes amongst the higher and lower socioeconomic groups within the urban poor.

SETTING:

Data analysis is based on a Health and Demographic Survey conducted in urban squatter settlements of Karachi in 1996.

METHODS:

A structured questionnaire was administered to all households in the catchment area. The indicator used to assess economic status is ownership of assets.

RESULTS:

Comparison between the two economic levels shows that the lower socio-economic group was more likely to experience child mortality, (CI; 1.02-1.29, p …

The Onset Of Fertility Transition In Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, John B. Casterline

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Recent trends in fertility and contraceptive prevalence indicate that the marital fertility transition in Pakistan, which has been anticipated for three decades, has begun in the 1990s. Before that decade, the total fertility rate had exceeded 6 births per woman for at least three decades, and fewer than 10 percent of married women practiced contraception. The most recent survey data, collected in 1996- 97, show a total fertility rate of 5.3 births per woman and a contraceptive prevalence rate of 24 percent. Underlying this development are macroeconomic trends that have led to widespread economic distress at the household level, and …