Health Outcomes in Poor Countriesand Policy Options : Empirical Findings from Demographic andHealth Surveys

Wang, Limin

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: AGGREGATE LEVEL;    ANTENATAL CARE;    ASSET INDEX;    AVERAGE LEVEL;    BREASTFEEDING;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2831
RP-ID  :  WPS2831

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Empirical studies on health at adisaggregate level-by socioeconomic group or geographiclocation-can provide useful information for designingpoverty-focused interventions. Using Demographic and HealthSurvey (DHS) data, the author investigates the determinantsof health outcomes in low-income countries both at thenational level, and for rural and urban areas separately.DHS data from more than 60 low-income countries between 1990and 1999 reveal two interesting observations. First is thenegative association between the level and inequality inchild mortality. Second is the significant gap in childmortality between urban and rural areas, with the ruralpopulation having a much slower reduction in mortalitycompared with the urban population. Given that the poor aremainly concentrated in rural areas, the evidence suggeststhat health interventions implemented in the past decade maynot have been as effective as intended in reaching the poor.The empirical findings in this study consolidate resultsfrom earlier studies and add new evidence. the author findsthat at the national level access to electricity,vaccination in the first year of life, and public healthexpenditure can significantly reduce child mortality. Theelectricity effect is shown to be independent of income. Inurban areas only access to electricity has a significanthealth impact, while in rural areas increasing vaccinationcoverage is important for mortality reduction.