Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons^™

Decomposing Differences In Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Case-Fatality Rates Across Seventeen Nations, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Dinko Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

As of 1 November 2020, estimated case-fatality rates associated with coronavirus disease 2019 are not uniformly patterned across the world and differ substantially in magnitude. Given the global spatial heterogeneity in case-fatality rates, we applied the Blinder-Oaxaca regression decomposition technique to identify how putative sociodemographic, structural, and environmental sources influence variation in case-fatality rates. We show that compositional and associational differences in country-level risk factors explain a substantial proportion of the coronavirus disease 2019-related case-fatality rate gap across nations. Asian countries fair better vis-à-vis case-fatality rate differences mainly due to variation in returns to sociodemographic, structural, and environmental sources among …

New Hampshire's Estimated Population Gain Is The Largest In New England, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson reports that the population of New Hampshire grew by 5,500 to 1,366,000 between July of 2019 and July of 2020, according to new Census Bureau estimates. This was the largest population percentage increase in New England. In contrast, the region as a whole and four of its six states lost population between July 2019 and July 2020, due in part to mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migration Gains To New Hampshire From Other U.S. States Are Growing, With The Largest Gains Among Young Adults, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson discusses how New Hampshire is now gaining significantly more migrants from other U.S. destinations than earlier in the decade. The largest gains are among young adults.

Natural Disasters And Domestic Violence: A Study Of The 2015 Nepal Earthquake, Arpita Khanna, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

This study explores the link between exposure to an earthquake and the incidence of intimate partner violence using two rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys data in Nepal. Using a differences-in-differences estimation, we find that exposure to the earthquake lead to a statistically and economically significant increase in the incidence of intimate partner violence in urban areas, which is attributable to the increase in stress felt by the victims. We argue that the heterogeneity of the impact between the urban and rural areas would be partly due to the differences in the reconstruction processes and assistance provided.

Enclosing Water: Privatization, Commodification, And Access, Daniel Jaffee

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter examines the global political economy of access to drinking water, with particular attention to the implications for environmental and social justice. After reviewing theoretical approaches to the privatization and commodification of drinking water, the chapter examines the institutional and ideological drivers, dynamics, and effects of the enclosure of municipal (tap) water supplies, and the substantial countermovements it has generated, drawing on case studies from both the global South and the North. The chapter briefly reviews the present status of municipal water privatization, and then turns to another major modality of water commodification: bottled water. It explores the dramatic …

Experiences Among Adults And Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic From Four Locations Across Kenya—Study Description, Timothy Abuya, Karen Austrian, Adan Isaac, Beth Kangwana, Faith Mbushi, Eva Muluve, Daniel Mwanga, Thoai Ngo, Mercy Nzioki, Rhoune Ochako, Jessie Pinchoff, Ben Tidwell, John Wanyungu, Corinne White

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

To control the spread of coronavirus, the COVID-19 National Emergency Response Committee (NERC) in Kenya, chaired by the Ministry of Health (MOH), has implemented prevention and mitigation measures. To inform the Government of Kenya’s shorter- and longer-term response strategies, the Population Council COVID-19 study team utilizes rapid phone-based surveys to collect information on knowledge, attitudes, practices and needs among a longitudinal cohort of heads of household sampled from existing prospective cohort studies. The first was carried out across five Nairobi urban informal settlements; the baseline survey (n=2,009) was conducted March 30–31 with subsequent follow-up surveys conducted April 13–14 (n=1,764), May …

Biden's Victory Due To Increased Support Along The Entire Rural-Urban Continuum, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Joseph Biden won the 2020 presidential election because Democratic support increased across the entire rural–urban continuum. The incremental gains at each point along the continuum were modest, but in a tightly contested election small changes in the vote matter.

In this brief, Carsey School senior demographer Ken Johnson and Carsey fellow Dante Scala conclude that voting trends in rural and urban America reflect a continuum rather than a dichotomy. At one pole of the continuum are large, densely settled urban cores, where Democrats have consistently been the most successful. At the other end are remote rural counties far from a …

The Gap Remains: Social Security Benefits Continue To Fall Short Of Covering Basic Cost Of Living For Older Americans, 2015-2020, Jan Mutchler, Yang Li

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Older Americans rely heavily on Social Security to support an independent lifestyle. Recent estimates suggest that among adults aged 65 years or older, more than half rely on Social Security for at least 50% of their family income, while nearly a quarter depend on Social Security for 90% or more of their family income.

Despite this substantial reliance on Social Security among older adults, Social Security benefits fall short of what is required to cover a basic cost of living across the United States, according to new estimates based on the Elder Index, a county-by-county measure of the income older …

Diasporic Placemaking: The Internationalisation Of A Migrant Hometown In Post-Socialist China, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

International migration profoundly reshapes the urban landscape in sending and receiving countries. Compared to ethnic enclaves in migrant-receiving metropolises and remittance houses in sending communities, we know little about systematic urban changes led by emigration states. In this article, based on three months of fieldwork in a migrant hometown in China, I argue that the dispersion of emigrants per se does not make its urban space inherently ‘diasporic’. Rather, a ‘diasporic place’ can be strategically constructed by local sociopolitical actors, a process I conceptualise as ‘diasporic placemaking’. To create an international city branding and boost the consumption-based urban economy, the …

Montana Voices Amplified: A Parent’S Perspective: How I Am Successfully Homeschooling My Child, Tracy Gulledge Street, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

The COVID-19 pandemic has people considering homeschooling; here are five things to consider if you are homeschooling your child.

There Are Large Disparities Between U.S. States In Cardiovascular Mortality Among Adults Aged 55 And Older, Nader Mehri

Population Health Research Brief Series

Over the past 20 years, declines in cardiovascular disease mortality rates have been much smaller in some U.S. states than others. Rates have also started to increase in some states in recent years.

The U.S. Rural Mortality Penalty Is Wide And Growing, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

In the U.S., rural mortality rates are much higher than those in urban areas, and the gap has widened in recent years. Several causes of death are to blame.

Voting And Attitudes Along The Red Rural–Blue Urban Continuum, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Political commentary often divides the nation into two partisan zones, urban and rural, but new analysis demonstrates that the rural–urban gradient is a continuum, not a dichotomy. In this study of the 2018 congressional midterms, authors Kenneth Johnson and Dante Scala confirm their earlier analysis of the 2016 presidential election and demonstrate how voting patterns and political attitudes vary across the spectrum of urban and rural areas.

Global Burden Of 369 Diseases And Injuries In 204 Countries And Territories, 1990–2019: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Theo Vos, Christopher J L Murray, Arianna Maever L. Amit, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, Gbd 2019 Diseases And Injuries Collaborators, 1026 Co-Authors

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries.

Methods

GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two …

Oregon's Population Estimates Program, Huda Alkitkat, Portland State University. Population Research Center

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Presentation given by Huda Alkitkat of the Population Research Center at Portland State University, in which she gives an overview of the Oregon Population Estimates Program.

Oregon 2019 American Community Survey Highlights, Charles Rynerson, Portland State University. Population Research Center

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Charles Rynerson of the Population Research Center at Portland State University discusses highlights from the Oregon 2019 American Community Survey. Topics discussed include how race can be misconstrued in data, demographic trends, poverty in Oregon, and domestic migration.

Oregon Population Forecast Program, Ethan Sharygin, Portland State University. Population Research Center

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Ethan Sharygin, the Director of the Population Research Center at Portand State University, offers an overview of the Oregon Population Forecast Program, and discusses the process by which population estimates are generated and certified.

Montana Voices Amplified: A Parent Teacher’S Perspective: Exploring Disability And Navigating A New World, Elizabeth Cummings, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

I found myself unexpectedly entering the world of disability 13 years ago when my oldest son, Charlie, was born with complex health and developmental challenges. Later diagnosed with autism and a genetic disorder, Charlie led me through the new worlds of early intervention, case management, children’s hospitals, and intervention plans. As Charlie grew older, I shifted my professional focus to special education, hoping others in my community might benefit from the skills I am learning in raising a child of my own with special needs. I want to share with you a few of the amazing students I have the …

You’Re Happy And You Know It: Social-Cognitive And Environmental Factors’ Impact On Iraqi Student Satisfaction, Rachel Laribee Gresk

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding and identifying factors that contribute to student satisfaction is becoming more important in Iraq as competition for student enrollment among universities increases. It also can be extremely useful for educational institutions since it will help them pinpoint their strengths, assess areas for improvement, and ensure they maintain and attract students to their campus. Thus, to understand how to achieve positive student satisfaction, this study sought to identify the social-cognitive factors and institutional environmental influences that relate to student satisfaction in a private institution in Iraq, using social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as a framework.

The study found that the …

Population, Development, And Policy, John Bongaarts, Michele Gragnolati, S. Amer Ahmed, Jamaica Corker

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The extensive literature on population and development yielded few policy-relevant results before the discovery of the demographic dividend. This dividend refers to a rise in per capita income that results from an increase in workers per capita as a population’s fertility declines. This paper describes the role of the demographic dividend in economic development in developing countries and summarizes policy options for strengthening the dividend. The first section reviews the demographic transition with an emphasis on its later phases when declining fertility and a changing population age structure produce the dividend. Next, the demographic drivers of the dividend and its …

Practice-Based Learning: Medico-Legal Evidence Collection As Part Of Post-Rape Care In Refugee Contexts, Michael Gaitho, Ronald Kotut, Anne Ngunjiri, Jane T. Thiomi, Josephine Ngebeh, Chi-Chi Undie

Reproductive Health

Health care providers collect an array of documentation and specimens to support criminal investigations. Such documentation and specimens are referred to as “medico-legal” or “forensic” evidence, and in the case of rape, include a survivor’s documented injuries and emotional state at the time of examination, as well as samples and specimens from the survivor’s body or clothing. For survivors of rape and defilement who want to obtain legal justice, medico-legal evidence is critical. In African countries, health providers and the police are depended upon to ensure such evidence is collected, but medico-legal evidence collection can present challenges. Evidence-based interventions are …

Practice-Based Learning: Establishing Simple Monitoring Systems To Support Sgbv Programming In Refugee Settings, Chi-Chi Undie, Josephine Ngebeh, Jane Harriet Namwebya, Michael Gaitho, George Odwe, Nachela Chelwa, Harriet Birungi, Michael Mbizvo

Reproductive Health

Implementers of sexual and gender-based violence programs in refugee settings are typically eager to learn about the extent to which their programs are making a difference in the lives of those they serve. Basic monitoring information can help address this imperative without unduly burdening program implementers with time-consuming evaluations. The Sauti/VOICE project is guiding adaptation and implementation of evidence-based SGBV interventions in refugee contexts. These interventions are implemented by UNHCR partners in eight countries in the East, Horn, and Great Lakes region of Africa. Although Sauti/VOICE is primarily focused on integrating tested SGBV interventions into refugee contexts, monitoring the implementation …

Is Rural America Failing Or Succeeding? Maybe Both, Kenneth M. Johnson, Daniel T. Lichter

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter summarize their peer reviewed article in Demography that provides cautionary lessons regarding the commonplace narrative of widespread rural decline and urban growth.

Johnson and Lichter report that since 1970, 25 percent of counties containing 22 percent of the current U.S. population have been reclassified from nonmetropolitan to metropolitan status because of population and economic growth. All of the growth in the share of the population that lives in metropolitan counties is due to nonmetropolitan counties transforming into metropolitan counties. This transfer of population and territory through reclassification calls into question the …

Rural Covid-19 Mortality Rates Are Highest In Counties With The Largest Percentages Of Blacks And Hispanics, Kent Jason G. Cheng, Yue Sun, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

COVID-19 mortality risk is not distributed equally across the U.S. Among rural counties, the average daily increase in COVID-19 mortality rates has been significantly higher in counties with the largest percentages of Black and Hispanic residents.

It's The Little Things: A Community Resource For Strengthening Social Connections, Caitlin Coyle, Shayna Gleason, Cindy Bui

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we prioritize connection for ourselves and the people around us. The global COVID-19 pandemic and the national reckoning with systemic racism has made people more aware and appreciative of their relationships and has made some painfully aware of how distant and disconnected they are. While the evidence is clear that social isolation is bad for health and well-being, the evidence base of solutions is far less so. Thus, this report sought to harness the energy, creativity, and progressive thinking of cities and towns in Massachusetts by documenting their efforts to keep people …

Mapping Geographical Inequalities In Access To Drinking Water And Sanitation Facilities In Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries, 2000–17, Aniruddha Deshpande, Robert C. Reiner Jr, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, Arianna Maever L. Amit, Local Burden Of Disease Wash Collaborators, 665 Co-Authors

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities.

Methods

We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant …

Montana Voices Amplified: A Parent’S Perspective: How To Advocate Without Alienating Team Members, Elizabeth Hill, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

How do you advocate for someone without alienating the teachers, therapists and administrators on your child’s team? Here are five steps that facilitate positive school team experiences.

Montana Voices Amplified: A Parent’S Perspective: Navigating Face Coverings, Elizabeth Cummings, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Everyone is talking about masks. As the research on their effectiveness as a tool to battle the COVID-19 pandemic grows, so does the list of places requiring them. Montana recently joined the states with a mask mandate, perhaps raising questions for many families with an individual with a disability. I am a parent of a child with complex special needs and have had these thoughts going through my mind over the last months as well. Could my son Charlie ever wear a mask? How would I teach him? What does the new normal mean for my unique family?

Health Conditions And An Older Population Increase Covid-19 Risks In Rural America, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson discusses the likely influence that the age structure and the incidence of pre-existing health conditions have on the risks of those exposed to COVID-19 in rural and urban counties in the United States.

Johnson reports that the rural population is at higher risk from COVID-19 because it is older and has higher rates of pre-existing health conditions. Rural areas currently have lower COVID-19 case and death rates, but these rates are rising faster than in urban areas. Nearly 32 percent of the rural counties at high risk from COVID-19 still have relatively few cases …

Estimating Global Injuries Morbidity And Mortality: Methods And Data Used In The Global Burden Of Disease 2017 Study, Spencer L. James, Veincent Christian F. Pepito, 536 Co-Authors

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria.

Methods In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality …