Showing papers on "Rural area published in 2004"

World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision

Abstract: The Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Population Division is responsible for providing the international community with up-to-date and scientifically objective infor- mation on population and development. The Population Division provides guidance to the United Nations General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, and the Commission on Population and Development on population and development issues and undertakes regular studies on population levels and trends, population estimates and projections, population poli- cies, and population and development inter-relationships. The Population Division's work encompasses the following substantive areas: the study of mortality, fertility, international and internal migration, including their levels and trends as well as their causes and consequences; estimates and projections of the distribution of the population between urban and rural areas and in cities; estimates and projections of population size, age and sex structure, and demographic indicators for all countries of the world; the documentation and analysis of population and development policies at the national and international levels; and the study of the relationship between socio-economic develop- ment and population change. This publication presents the results of the 2003 Revision of the official United Na- tions estimates and projections of urban and rural populations for major areas, regions and countries of the world and of all urban agglomerations with 750,000 inhabitants or more in 2000. The data in this Revision are consistent with the total populations estimated and pro- jected according to the medium variant of the 2002 Revision of the United Nations global population estimates and projections, published in World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision'. This Revision updates and supersedes previous estimates and projections published by the United Nations.

Rural Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction Strategies in Four African Countries

Abstract: This paper compares and contrasts rural livelihoods in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, with a view to informing rural poverty reduction policies within Poverty Reduction Strategy Plans (PRSPs). Low household incomes in rural areas of all countries are associated with low land and livestock holdings, high reliance on food crop agriculture, and low monetisation of the rural economy. These adverse factors are in some instances made more difficult by land sub-division at inheritance, declining civil security in rural areas, deteriorating access to proper agronomic advice and inputs, and predatory taxation by decentralised district councils. Better off households are distinguished by virtuous spirals of accumulation typically involving diverse livestock ownership, engagement in non-farm self-employment, and diversity of on-farm and non-farm income sources. Lessons for PRSPs centre on the creation of a facilitating, rather than blocking, public sector environment for the multiplication of non-farm enterprises; seeking creative solutions to the spread of technical advice to farmers; and examining critically the necessity for, and impact of, tax revenue collection by district councils on rural incomes and enterprise.

Self poisoning with pesticides

Abstract: WHO's recent recommendations on reducing deaths from self harm will not help cut the high death rate from self poisoning in the Asia Pacific region Self inflicted violence accounts for around half of the 1.6 million violent deaths that occur every year worldwide.1 About 63% of global deaths from self harm occur in the Asia Pacific region. Most of these deaths occur in rural areas, where easy access to highly toxic pesticides turns many impulsive acts of self poisoning into suicide. The World Health Organization's recent World Report on Violence and Health recommends that suicide prevention strategies focus on the identification and treatment of people with mental disorders.2 However, as impulsive self poisoning is often not associated with mental illness, this may not be the most effective approach for rural Asia. Self harm is a major problem in many nations in the Asia Pacific region, from the Pacific islands of Fiji and Samoa, to Asian nations as different as China and Sri Lanka.3 Suicide accounted for 71% (512 000/722 000) of all violent deaths in South East Asia and the Western Pacific region in 2000.2 Most deaths occur in rural communities: the incidence of fatal self harm in rural China is three to five times that in urban China,4 and self poisoning is the commonest cause of inpatient death in some rural Sri Lankan districts but a rare cause in the capital city.5 Some experts believe that a distinction exists, particularly in terms of intent, between people who harm themselves (attempt suicide) and those who die (commit suicide).6 WHO's report on violence and health, however, acknowledges that, although an intent to die is a key element of suicide, determining the level of intent for an individual is difficult.2

Obesity and physical inactivity in rural America.

Abstract: Context and Purpose: Obesity and physical inactivity are common in the United States, but few studies examine this issue within rural populations. The present study uses nationally representative data to study obesity and physical inactivity in rural populations. Methods: Data came from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult and Adult Prevention Module. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate body mass index. Physical inactivity was defined using self-reported leisure-time physical activity. Analyses included descriptive statistics, x2 tests, and logistic regression. Findings: Obesity was more common among rural (20.4%, 95% CI 19.2%–21.6%) than urban adults (17.8%, 95% CI 17.2%–18.4%). Rural residents of every racial/ethnic group were at higher risk of obesity than urban whites, other factors held equal. Other predictors of obesity included being male, age 25–74, lacking a high school diploma, having physical limitations, fair to poor health, and a history of smoking. Proportionately more rural adults were physically inactive than their urban peers (62.8% versus 59.3%). Among rural residents, minorities were not significantly more likely to be inactive than whites. Males and younger adults were less likely to be inactive. Rural adults who were from the Midwest and South, had less than a high school education, had fair to poor health, and currently smoked were more likely to be inactive compared to their respective referent group. Conclusions: The high prevalence of obesity and inactive lifestyles among rural populations call for research into effective rural interventions.

Person and Place: The Compounding Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Rurality on Health

Abstract: Rural racial/ethnic minorities constitute a forgotten population. The limited research addressing rural Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations suggests that disparities in health and in health care access found among rural racial/ethnic minority populations are generally more severe than those among urban racial/ethnic minorities. We suggest that disparities must be understood as both collective and contextual phenomena. Rural racial/ethnic minority disparities in part stem from the aggregation of disadvantaged individuals in rural areas. Disparities also emerge from a context of limited educational and economic opportunity. Linking public health planning to the education and economic development sectors will reduce racial/ethnic minority disparities while increasing overall well-being in rural communities.

Rural entrepreneurship in Europe: A research framework and agenda

Abstract: The present work provides an integrated view of rural entrepreneurship and sets the agenda for future research in the area. Rurality defines a territorially specific entrepreneurial milieu with distinct physical, social and economic characteristics. Location, natural resources and the landscape, social capital, rural governance, business and social networks, as well as information and communication technologies, exert dynamic and complex influences on entrepreneurial activity in rural areas. Rurality is viewed as a dynamic entrepreneurial resource that shapes both opportunities and constraints. Rural entrepreneurship is depicted as a three‐stage sequential process highly influenced by specific territorial characteristics. The proposed research agenda addresses issues related to theoretical studies concerning entrepreneurial processes in rural areas and more applied issues concerning the formulation of integrated and competent policies supporting entrepreneurship in such areas.

Rights, resources and rural development : community-based natural resource management in Southern Africa

Abstract: Part 1: Synthesis The Fundamentals of Community-based Natural Resource Management * Community-based Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihoods * Political Economy, Governance and Community-based Natural Resource Management * Putting Out Fires: Does the 'C' in CBNRM Stand for Community or Centrifuge? * Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation with Rural Development: The Holy Grail of CBNRM? * Part 2: Case Studies - Community-based Natural Resource Management, Traditional Governance and Spiritual Ecology in Southern Africa: The Case of Chiefs, Deviners and Spirit Mediums * The Contribution of Bees to Livelihoods in Southern Africa * Everyday Resources are Valuable Enough for Community-based Natural Resource Management Programme Support: Evidence from South Africa * Community-based Resource Management in the Okavango Delta * Local Ecological Knowledge and the Basarwa in the Okavango Delta: The Case of Xaxaba, Ngamiland District * a Land Without Fences: Range Management in Lesotho * Beach Village Committees as a Vehicle for Community Participation: Lake Malombe/Upper Shire River Participatory Programme * Key Issues in Namibia's Communal Conservancy Movement * The Torra Conservancy in Namibia * The Tchumo Tchato Project in Mozambique: Community-based Natural Resource Management in Transition * The Richtersveld and Makuleke Contractual Parks in South Africa: Win-win for Communities and Conservation? *The Lungwa Integrated Rural Development Project, Zambia * Community Wildlife Management in Zimbabwe: The Case of CAMPFIRE in the Zambezi Valley * New Configurations of Power Around Mafaungautsi State Forest in Zimbabwe * Conclusions and Recommendation: What We Have Learned from a Decade of Experimentation * Index

New patterns of hispanic settlement in rural America

Abstract: Since 1980, the nonmetro Hispanic population in the United States has doubled and is now the most rapidly growing demographic group in rural and small-town America. By 2000, half of all nonmetro Hispanics lived outside traditional settlement areas of the Southwest. Many Hispanics in counties that have experienced rapid Hispanic growth are recent U.S. arrivals with relatively low education levels, weak English proficiency, and undocumented status. This recent settlement has increased the visibility of Hispanics in many new regions of rural America whose population has long been dominated by non-Hispanic Whites. Yet within smaller geographic areas, the level of residential separation between them increased —i.e., the two groups became less evenly distributed—during the 1990s, especially in rapidly growing counties. Hispanic settlement patterns warrant attention by policymakers because they affect the well-being of both Hispanics and rural communities themselves.

Attitudes toward family obligation among adolescents in contemporary urban and rural China

Abstract: A sense of obligation to support, assist, and respect the family was examined among approximately 700 urban and rural 10th- (M = 16.6 years) and 12th- (M = 18.9 years) grade students in the People's Republic of China. Urban male adolescents reported a weaker sense of family obligation than did rural male adolescents and both urban and rural female adolescents. Only children did not differ from those with siblings in terms of their attitudes toward family support and respect. A sense of family obligation was generally associated with more positive family relationships and a higher level of academic motivation among Chinese adolescents. Discussion focuses on how the shift to a market economy may influence adolescents' identification with the family in contemporary China.

Toward an understanding of household vulnerability in rural Kenya

Abstract: Considerations of risk and vulnerability are key to understanding the dynamics of poverty. This study conceives vulnerability as expected poverty and illustrates a methodology to empirically assess household vulnerability using pseudo panel data derived from repeated cross sections augmented with historical information on shocks. Application of the methodology to data from rural Kenya shows that in 1994 rural households faced on average a 40 percent chance of becoming poor in the future. Households in arid areas that experience large rainfall volatility appear more vulnerable than those in non-arid areas, where malaria emerges as a key risk factor. Idiosyncratic shocks also cause non-negligible consumption volatility. Possession of cattle and sheep/goats appears ineffective in protecting consumption against covariant shocks, though sheep/goat help reduce the effect of idiosyncratic shocks, especially in arid zones. Of the policy instruments simulated, interventions directed at reducing the incidence of malaria, promoting adult literacy, and improving market accessibility hold most promise to reduce vulnerability.

Prevalence of sustained hypertension and obesity in urban and rural school going children in Ludhiana.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Increasing trend of hypertension is a worldwide phenomenon. The data on sustained hypertension in school going children is scanty in India. The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of sustained hypertension and obesity in apparently healthy school children in rural and urban areas of Ludhiana using standard criteria. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 2467 apparently healthy adolescent school children aged between 11-17 years from urban area and 859 students from rural area were taken as subjects. Out of total 3326 students, 189 were found to have sustained hypertension; in urban areas prevalence of sustained hypertension was 6.69% (n=165) and in rural area it was 2.56% (n=24). Males outnumbered females in both rural and urban areas. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of hypertensive population in both urban and rural population was significantly higher than systolic and diastolic blood pressure in their normotensive counterparts (urban normotensive systolic blood pressure:115.48+/-22.74 mmHg, urban hypertensive systolic blood pressure: 137.59+/-11.91 mmHg, rural normotensive systolic blood pressure: 106.31+/-19.86 mmHg, rural hypertensive systolic blood pressure: 131.63+/-10.13 mmHg, urban normotensive diastolic blood pressure: 74.18+/-17.41 mmHg, urban hypertensive diastolic blood pressure: 84.58+/-8.14 mmHg, rural normotensive diastolic blood pressure: 68.84+/-16.96 mmHg, rural hypertensive diastolic blood pressure: 79.15+/-7.41 mmHg). Overweight populationwas significantly higher in urban area. There were 287 (11.63%) overweight students and 58 (2.35%) were obese. In rural population overweight and obese students were 44 (4.7%) and 34 (3.63%) respectively. There was significant increase in prevalence of hypertension in both rural and urban population with increased body mass index in urban students; those with normal body mass index had prevalence of hypertension of 4.52% (n=96), in overweight it was 15.33% (n=44) and in obese it was 43.10% (n=25). In rural area, the overweight students showed prevalence of sustained hypertension in 6.82% (n=3) and in obese group it was 61.76% (n=21). None of the student with normal body mass index in rural area was found to be hypertensive. The mean body mass index of hypertensive population in both rural and urban areas was significantly higher than respective normotensive population (mean body mass index in urban normotensive group: 20.34+/-3.72 kg/m2, hypertensive group: 24.91+/-4.92 kg/m2; mean body mass index in rural normotensive group: 18.41+/-3.41 kg/m2, hypertensive group: 21.37+/-3.71 kg/m2, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Prevalence of sustained hypertension is on the rise in urban area even in younger age groups. Blood pressure is frequently elevated in obese children as compared to lean subjects. This is possibly related to their sedentary lifestyle, altered eating habits, increased fat content of diet and decreased physical activities.

Levels and causes of adult mortality in rural South Africa: The impact of AIDS

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To quantify the contribution that AIDS makes to adult mortality in rural South Africa. DESIGN: Demographic surveillance of the population in a rural area of northern KwaZulu Natal province. METHODS: The population and all adult deaths (n = 1021) in 2000 were enumerated. We conducted verbal autopsy interviews with the caregivers of those who died to identify the causes of adult deaths. A validation study of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was conducted on 109 individuals with hospital notes that could be located. Death rates and other mortality indices are both calculated directly and estimated indirectly by the orphanhood method. RESULTS: Mortality in the study area rose sharply in the late-1990s. By 2000 the probability of dying between ages 15 and 60 was 58% for women and 75% for men. AIDS, with or without tuberculosis, is the leading cause of death in adulthood (48%). Injuries, mostly resulting from road traffic accidents or violence, cause 20% of deaths of men aged 15-44 years. In the age group 60 years or more, non-communicable diseases account for 76 and 71% of deaths of women and men respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This population has experienced a sudden and massive rise in adult mortality. This can be accounted for by AIDS deaths. Mortality from non-communicable disease and (among men) injuries is also high. Antenatal HIV seroprevalence continued to rise in rural KwaZulu Natal in the late 1990s, reaching 40% in some clinics in this area. Adult mortality will continue to rise unless effective treatment interventions are introduced.

Rural America at a Glance

Abstract: Rural America is less racially and ethnically diverse than urban areas. Whites make up nearly 80 percent of the rural population, compared with 58 percent of the urban population. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the rural population but make up just 9 percent of the rural population, compared with 20 percent in urban areas. Blacks constitute 8 percent of the rural population, while American Indians are the only minority group with a higher rural than urban share (2 percent versus 0.5 percent). Relatively few Asians and Pacific Islanders (included in the “Other” category) are rural residents, with these groups accounting for only 1 and 0.1 percent of the rural population, respectively. The rest of the “Other” category (accounting for 1.8 percent of the rural population) are residents reporting multiple races.

The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 and accessibility effects on health

Abstract: Study objective: To investigate whether the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 (IMD) is more strongly related to inequalities in health in rural areas than traditional deprivation indices To explore the contribution of the IMD domain "geographical access to services" to understanding rural health variations Design: A geographically based cross sectional study Setting: Nine counties in the south west region of England Participants: All those aged below 65 who reported a limiting long term illness in the 1991 census, and all those who died during 1991–96, aged less than 65 years Main results: The IMD is comparable with the Townsend score in its overall correlation with premature mortality (r2 = 044 v 053) and morbidity (r2 = 079 v 076) Correlation between the Townsend score and population health is weak in rural areas but the IMD maintains a strong correlation with rates of morbidity (r2 = 070) The "geographical access to services" domain of the IMD is not strongly correlated with rates of morbidity in rural areas (r2 = 004), and in urban areas displays a negative correlation (r2 = -047) Conclusions: The IMD has a strong relation with health in both rural and urban areas This is likely to be the result of the inclusion of data in the IMD on the numbers of people claiming benefits related to ill health and disability The domain "geographical access to services" is not associated with health in rural areas, although it displays some association in urban areas This domain is potentially important but, as yet, inadequately specified in the IMD for the purposes of health research

Globalization, Urbanization and Nutritional Change in the Developing World

Abstract: Urbanization and globalization may enhance access to non traditional foods as a result of changing prices and production practices, as well as trade and marketing practices. These forces have influenced dietary patterns throughout the developing world. Longitudinal case study data from China indicate that consumption patterns closely reflect changes in availability, and that potentially obesogenic dietary patterns are emerging, with especially large changes in rural areas with high levels of urban infrastructure and resources. Recent data on women from 36 developing countries illustrate that these dietary shifts may have implications for overweight/obesity in urban and rural settings. These data emphasize the importance of developing country policies that include preventive measures to minimize further adverse shifts in diet and activity, and risk of continued rises in overweight.

Distance, rurality and the need for care: access to health services in South West England

Abstract: BACKGROUND: This paper explores the geographical accessibility of health services in urban and rural areas of the South West of England, comparing two measures of geographical access and characterising the areas most remote from hospitals.Straight-line distance and drive-time to the nearest general practice (GP) and acute hospital (DGH) were calculated for postcodes and aggregated to 1991 Census wards. The correlation between the two measures was used to identify wards where straight-line distance was not an accurate predictor of drive-time. Wards over 25 km from a DGH were classified as 'remote', and characterised in terms of rurality, deprivation, age structure and health status of the population. RESULTS: The access measures were highly correlated (r2>0.93). The greatest differences were found in coastal and rural wards of the far South West. Median straight-line distance to GPs was 1 km (IQR = 0.6-2 km) and to DGHs, 12 km (IQR = 5-19 km). Deprivation and rates of premature limiting long term illness were raised in areas most distant from hospitals, but there was no evidence of higher premature mortality rates. Half of the wards remote from a DGH were not classed as rural by the Office for National Statistics. Almost a quarter of households in the wards furthest from hospitals had no car, and the proportion of households with access to two or more cars fell in the most remote areas. CONCLUSION: Drive-time is a more accurate measure of access for peripheral and rural areas. Geographical access to health services, especially GPs, is good, but remoteness affects both rural and urban areas: studies concentrating purely on rural areas may underestimate geographical barriers to accessing health care. A sizeable minority of households still had no car in 1991, and few had more than one car, particularly in areas very close to and very distant from hospitals. Better measures of geographical access, which integrate public and private transport availability with distance and travel time, are required if an accurate reflection of the experience those without their own transport is to be obtained.

Prevalence of neurological disorders in Bangalore, India: a community-based study with a comparison between urban and rural areas.

Abstract: A population-based neuroepidemiological survey of 102,557 individuals in urban and rural Bangalore in Southern India was conducted to determine the prevalence and pattern of neurological disorders. Th

Implications of market and coordination failures for rural development in least developed countries

Abstract: Market failures affecting economic growth in poor rural areas are firmly on the agenda but for goods and services with private good characteristics are generally not conceptualized and understood in ways that help policy analysis and formulation to recognize and address these failures. We need greater recognition and understanding of the causes and nature of coordination failures that lead to these market failures. This paper examines core features of poor rural areas, the nature of coordination problems faced by different potential economic actors, the impacts of these problems on markets and economic development and ways that these have been addressed or ignored in different policies and policy approaches in Asia and Africa. We conclude by drawing out the implications for policies seeking to promote pro-poor economic growth in poor rural areas today. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Differences in physical activity levels between urban and rural school children in Cyprus

Abstract: This study attempted to examine differences in physical activity levels between urban and rural primary school children. The sample consisted of 256 Greek-Cypriot children and their parents from two schools representing urban areas and three schools representing rural areas. Children's activity levels were assessed for 4 weekdays in the winter and for 4 weekdays in the summer using a pedometer (DW-200; Yamax, Tokyo, Japan). Daily step counts were used to describe children's activity levels. Parents completed a questionnaire assessing environmental variables in both seasons. Two-way ANOVAs indicated that urban school children were significantly more active in winter than rural school children (means = 13,583 +/- 4,313 versus 12 436 +/- 3610, P < 0.001) and that rural school children were significantly more active in the summer (means = 16,450 +/- 5134 versus 14,531 +/- 4,901, P < 0.001). Parents of children in rural schools reported more space available in the garden and in the neighbourhoods, and safer neighbourhoods than parents of children in urban schools, whereas children in urban schools had more exercise equipment available at home and were transported more frequently to places where they could be physically active. Results of this study suggest that intervention programmes to promote physical activity need to consider seasonal and geographical location differences in physical activity levels.