Articles: mortality.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jan 1993
Review Comparative StudyHealth care in China: a rural-urban comparison after the socioeconomic reforms.
This article provides an overview of the current Chinese health care system with particular emphasis on rural-urban differences. China's post-1978 economic reforms, although they improved general living standards, created some unintended consequences, as evidenced by the disintegration of the rural cooperative medical system and the sharp reduction in the number of "barefoot doctors", both of which were essential elements in the improvement of health status in rural China. ⋯ These changes have disproportionately affected the rural health care system, leaving the urban system basically intact, and have contributed to the rural-urban disparity in health care. Based on recent data the article compares current rural-urban differences in health care policy, systems, resources, and outcomes, and proposes potential solutions to reduce them.
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The objective of this study was to identify risk perception on several factors related to reproductive health, with the goal of implementing an educational intervention based on detected needs. 405 women between 12 and 44 years were interviewed at home. 62.2% perceived the risk of pregnancy at 17 years and younger; 78.8% the risk of pregnancy at 35 years and older; 76.6% the risk of parity of 5 and higher; and 55.1% the risk of birth interval of 2 years and less. 60.5% recognized family history of birth defects, 80.2% age 35 years and older, and 84.4% rubella during pregnancy, as risk factors for newborns with congenital malformations. 27.7% identified history of a low birth weight and 61.0% birth interval of 1 year and less, as risk factors for low birth weight. The majority perceived the risk of tobacco, alcohol and drugs consumption during pregnancy, diseases with no treatment and deficient nutrition. ⋯ No linear correlation was detected. Health educators should recognize differences on knowledge and behavior of future receptors before an educational intervention starts.
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While most Third World countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America, have experienced a deterioration in child welfare as a result of the severe economic downturn in the 1980s, Southeast Asia in general managed to sustain improvements in the situation of its children because it has maintained satisfactory rates of economic growth. However, there were exceptions within Southeast Asia. The Philippines, Vietnam, Dem. ⋯ Long-term investments in health, nutrition and other social services in Thailand (as well as in Indonesia) have paid off according to the assessment by the United Nations (1990). It appears, therefore, that the nutrition situation in developing countries is highly dependent on the economic situation, globally and nationally (Cornia et al. 1987), as well as on investment in social services. Adjustment policies should, therefore, consider their implications on distribution and poverty in order that they could positively contribute to the improvement of the nutrition of the people.
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Review Comparative Study
Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood mortality: the 1970s to the 1980s.
The last three decades have witnessed substantial reductions in childhood mortality in most developing nations. Despite this encouraging picture, analysis of WFS and DHS survey data shows that socioeconomic disparities in survival chances have not narrowed between the 1970s and 1980s, and in some cases, have widened. ⋯ In most countries studied, no more than 20 per cent of the national trend could be accounted for by compositional improvements. The median contributions of improvements in mother's education and father's occupation were ten and eight per cent, respectively.