Health Outcomes in Poor Countries and Policy Options : Empirical Findings from Demographic and Health Surveys

Empirical studies on health at a disaggregate level-by socioeconomic group or geographic location-can provide useful information for designing poverty-focused interventions. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, the author investigates the determinants of health outcomes in low-income countries both at the national level, and for rural and urban areas separately. DHS data from more than 60 low-income countries between 1990 and 1999 reveal two interesting observations. First is the negative association between the level and inequality in child mortality. Second is the significant gap in child mortality between urban and rural areas, with the rural population having a much slower reduction in mortality compared with the urban population. Given that the poor are mainly concentrated in rural areas, the evidence suggests that health interventions implemented in the past decade may not have been as effective as intended in reaching the poor. The empirical findings in this study consolidate results from earlier studies and add new evidence. the author finds that at the national level access to electricity, vaccination in the first year of life, and public health expenditure can significantly reduce child mortality. The electricity effect is shown to be independent of income. In urban areas only access to electricity has a significant health impact, while in rural areas increasing vaccination coverage is important for mortality reduction.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Wang, Limin
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, D.C. 2002-04
Subjects:	AGGREGATE LEVEL, ANTENATAL CARE, ASSET INDEX, AVERAGE LEVEL, BREASTFEEDING, CAUSATION, CENSUS DATA, CHILD NUTRITION, COMPONENT ANALYSIS, COUNTRY LEVEL, DATA REQUIREMENTS, DATA SET, DATA SOURCES, DEATHS, DESIGNING POLICIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT, ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EXPENDITURE DATA, EXPENDITURE INFORMATION, EXPENDITURE VARIABLE, EXPENDITURES, HEALTH DETERMINANTS, HEALTH EXPENDITURE, HEALTH FACILITIES, HEALTH INDICATORS, HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, HEALTH ISSUES, HEALTH NEEDS, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH STATUS, HEALTH SURVEY, HEALTH SURVEYS, HETEROSCEDASTICITY, HOUSEHOLD ACCESS, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HOUSING, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, IMMUNIZATION, INCOME, INCOME EFFECT, INCOME QUINTILES, INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATE, INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, LIFE EXPECTANCY, LIVING STANDARD, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MATRICES, MEASUREMENT ERRORS, MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION, MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION APPROACH, NATIONAL LEVEL, NUTRITION, NUTRITION STATUS, OUTLIERS, POLICY ACTIONS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY INSTRUMENTS, POLICY OPTIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POOR COUNTRIES, POOR PEOPLE, POPULATION SIZE, POVERTY ANALYSIS, POVERTY FOCUS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC HEALTH, RADIO, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, RELIABILITY, RESEARCH FINDINGS, RURAL AREAS, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL POPULATION, SAMPLE SIZE, SOCIAL INDICATORS, SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS, STANDARD ERRORS, TIME SERIES, URBAN AREAS, URBAN POPULATION, VACCINATION, WEALTH INDEX HEALTH POLICY, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA COLLECTION, CHILD MORTALITY, INEQUITY, RURAL HEALTH SERVICES, ELECTRICITY, PUBLIC HEALTH FINANCE, GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY, MORTALITY RATES, MORTALITY DECLINE,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/04/1775830/health-outcomes-poor-countries-policy-options-empirical-findings-demographic-health-surveys https://hdl.handle.net/10986/14806
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