| 1. |
- Garenne, Michel, et al.
(författare)
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Completeness of birth and death registration in a rural area of South Africa : the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance, 1992-2014
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Completeness of vital registration remains very low in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rural areas. Objectives: To investigate trends and factors in completeness of birth and death registration in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa covering a population of about 110,000 persons, under demographic surveillance since 1992. The population belongs to the Shangaan ethnic group and hosts a sizeable community of Mozambican refugees.Design: Statistical analysis of birth and death registration over time in a 22-year perspective (1992-2014). Over this period, major efforts were made by the government of South Africa to improve vital registration. Factors associated with completeness of registration were investigated using univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: Birth registration was very incomplete at onset (7.8% in 1992) and reached high values at end point (90.5% in 2014). Likewise, death registration was low at onset (51.4% in 1992), also reaching high values at end point (97.1% in 2014). For births, the main factors were mother's age (much lower completeness among births to adolescent mothers), refugee status, and household wealth. For deaths, the major factors were age at death (lower completeness among under-five children), refugee status, and household wealth. Completeness increased for all demographic and socioeconomic categories studied and is likely to approach 100% in the future if trends continue at this speed.Conclusion: Reaching high values in the completeness of birth and death registration was achieved by excellent organization of the civil registration and vital statistics, a variety of financial incentives, strong involvement of health personnel, and wide-scale information and advocacy campaigns by the South African government.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Garenne, Michel L, et al.
(författare)
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Fertility trends and net reproduction in Agincourt, rural South Africa : 1992-2004
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 35:Suppl. 69, s. 68-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: To analyse trends in fertility rates and net reproduction rates in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa located in the former homeland of Gazankulu near the Mozambican border. Trends are analysed in the context of widely available modern contraceptive methods and increasing HIV/AIDS. Methods: A health and demographic surveillance system has been in place since 1992, covering a population of approximately 70,000 persons, with an annual census update and comprehensive recording of births and deaths. It was complemented by a retrospective study of fertility at baseline. Retrospective and prospective data were used to calculate trends in fertility, survival, and net reproduction. When possible, they were compared with data from other censuses and surveys in the same ethnic group. Results: The fertility transition has almost ended over a course of 25 years in Agincourt. The total fertility rate (TFR) averaged 6.0 in 1979 and 2.3 in 2004. Fertility declined in proportionate fashion in all age groups including adolescents in the recent period. The net reproduction rate (NRR) declined from 1.8 to 1.0 during the prospective period (1992—2004). At current rates of change in fertility and mortality, the NRR can be expected to reach 0.63 by the year 2010. Conclusions: The situation of a below-replacement fertility level is new for rural Africa, and is likely to have many demographic, economic and social implications. The population could decline in the country as a whole, and is nearly static in Agincourt because of negative migration flows balancing the small excess from natural increase.
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| 4. |
- Garenne, Michel, et al.
(författare)
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Maternal mortality in rural South Africa : the impact of case definition on levels and trends.
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Women's Health. - : Dovepress. - 1179-1411. ; 5, s. 457-463
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Uncertainty in the levels of global maternal mortality reflects data deficiencies, as well as differences in methods and definitions. This study presents levels and trends in maternal mortality in Agincourt, a rural subdistrict of South Africa, under long-term health and sociodemographic surveillance.METHODS: All deaths of women aged 15 years-49 years occurring in the study area between 1992 and 2010 were investigated, and causes of death were assessed by verbal autopsy. Two case definitions were used: "obstetrical" (direct) causes, defined as deaths caused by conditions listed under O00-O95 in International Classification of Diseases-10; and "pregnancy-related deaths", defined as any death occurring during the maternal risk period (pregnancy, delivery, 6 weeks postpartum), irrespective of cause.RESULTS: The case definition had a major impact on levels and trends in maternal mortality. The obstetric mortality ratio averaged 185 per 100,000 live births over the period (60 deaths), whereas the pregnancy-related mortality ratio averaged 423 per 100,000 live births (137 deaths). Results from both calculations increased over the period, with a peak around 2006, followed by a decline coincident with the national roll-out of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and antiretroviral treatment programs. Mortality increase from direct causes was mainly due to hypertension or sepsis. Mortality increase from other causes was primarily due to the rise in deaths from HIV/AIDS and pulmonary tuberculosis.CONCLUSION: These trends underline the major fluctuations induced by emerging infectious diseases in South Africa, a country undergoing rapid and complex health transitions. Findings also pose questions about the most appropriate case definition for maternal mortality and emphasize the need for a consistent definition in order to better monitor and compare trends over time and across settings.
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| 5. |
- Garenne, Michel, et al.
(författare)
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Protective Effect of Pregnancy in Rural South Africa : Questioning the Concept of "Indirect Cause'' of Maternal Death
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : PLOS, Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 8:5, s. e64414-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Measurement of the level and composition of maternal mortality depends on the definition used, with inconsistencies leading to inflated rates and invalid comparisons across settings. This study investigates the differences in risk of death for women in their reproductive years during and outside the maternal risk period (pregnancy, delivery, puerperium), focusing on specific causes of infectious, non-communicable and external causes of death after separating out direct obstetrical causes. Methods: Data on all deaths of women aged 15-49 years that occurred in the Agincourt sub-district between 1992 and 2010 were obtained from the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system (HDSS) located in rural South Africa. Causes of death were assessed using a validated verbal autopsy instrument. Analysis included 2170 deaths, of which 137 occurred during the maternal risk period. Findings: Overall, women had significantly lower mortality during the maternal risk period than outside it (age-standardized RR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.63-0.89). This was true in most age groups with the exception of adolescents aged 15-19 years where the risk of death was higher. Mortality from most causes, other than obstetric causes, was lower during the maternal risk period except for malaria, cardiovascular diseases and violence where there were no differences. Lower mortality was significant for HIV/AIDS (RR = 0.29, P<0.0001), cancers (RR = 0.10, P<0.023), and accidents (RR = 0, P<0.0001). Interpretation: In this rural setting typical of much of Southern Africa, pregnancy was largely protective against the risk of death, most likely because of a strong selection effect amongst those women who conceived successfully. The concept of indirect cause of maternal death needs to be re-examined.
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| 6. |
- Kahn, Kathleen, 1960-
(författare)
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Dying to make a fresh start : mortality and health transition in a new South Africa
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rationale: Vital registration is lacking in developing settings where health and development problems are most pressing. Policy-makers confront an “information paradox”: the critical need for information on which to base priorities and monitor progress, and the profound shortage of such information. Aims: To better understand the dynamics of mortality transition in rural South Africa over a decade of profound socio-political change coupled with emerging HIV/AIDS. Thereby to inform health and development programming, policy formulation, and the research agenda; and contribute to debate on the nature of the ‘health transition’. Methods: The Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system is based on continuous monitoring of the Agincourt sub-district population in rural north-east South Africa. This involves annual recording of all vital events, specifically deaths, births and migrations in 11,700 households comprising some 70,000 persons. A “verbal autopsy” is conducted on every death, and special modules provide additional data. Key findings: A major health transition has occurred over the past decade, with marked changes in population structure and rapidly escalating mortality particularly among children and younger adults. A quadruple burden of disease is evident with persisting infectious disease and malnutrition in children, emerging non-communicable disease in the middle-aged and older, high levels of violence in an apparently peaceful community, and rapidly escalating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. There is evidence of sex differences and socio-economic differentials in mortality; vulnerable sub-groups include the children of Mozambican immigrants and recently returned labour migrants. Implications: With respect to health transition, empirical data demonstrate a marked “counter transition” with mortality increasing in children and young adults; “epidemiologic polarization” is evident with the most vulnerable experiencing a higher mortality burden; and a “protracted transition” is reflected in the co-existence of persisting infectious disease and malnutrition, emerging HIV/AIDS, and increasing chronic non-communicable disease. With respect to health policy and practice there is urgent need to: strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care; offer effective long-term care to control the rising burden of chronic illness and related risk; maintain and improve maternal and child health services; and address differential access to care. This poses a substantial challenge to a severely stretched health system.
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| 7. |
- Kahn, Kathleen, et al.
(författare)
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Mortality trends in a new South Africa : hard to make a fresh start
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scandinavian journal of public health. Supplement. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4956 .- 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 35:69 Suppl., s. 26-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: This paper examines trends in age-specific mortality in a rural South African population from 1992 to 2003, a decade spanning major sociopolitical change and emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Changing mortality patterns are discussed within a health-transition framework. Methods: Data on population size, structure, and deaths, obtained from the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system, were used to calculate person-years at risk and death rates. Life tables were computed by age, sex and calendar year. Mortality rates for the early period 1992—93 and a decade later, 2002— 03, were compared. Results: Findings demonstrate significant increases in mortality for both sexes since the mid-1990s, with a rapid decline in life expectancy of 12 years in females and 14 years in males. The increases are most prominent in children (0—4) and young adult (20—49) age groups, in which increases of two- and fivefold respectively have been observed in the past decade. Sex differences in mortality patterns are evident with increases more marked in females in most adult age groups. Conclusions: Empirical data demonstrate a marked ``counter transition'' with mortality increasing in children and young adults, ``epidemiologic polarization'' with vulnerable subgroups experiencing a higher mortality burden, and a ``protracted transition'' with simultaneous emergence of HIV/AIDS together with increasing non-communicable disease in older adults. The health transition in rural South Africa is unlikely to predict patterns elsewhere; hence the need to examine trends in as many contexts as have the data to support such analyses.
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| 8. |
- Kahn, Kathleen, et al.
(författare)
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Profile : Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance System
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 41:4, s. 988-1001
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system (HDSS), located in rural northeast South Africa close to the Mozambique border, was established in 1992 to support district health systems development led by the post-apartheid ministry of health. The HDSS (90 000 people), based on an annual update of resident status and vital events, now supports multiple investigations into the causes and consequences of complex health, population and social transitions. Observational work includes cohorts focusing on different stages along the life course, evaluation of national policy at population, household and individual levels and examination of household responses to shocks and stresses and the resulting pathways influencing health and well-being. Trials target children and adolescents, including promoting psycho-social well-being, preventing HIV transmission and reducing metabolic disease risk. Efforts to enhance the research platform include using automated measurement techniques to estimate cause of death by verbal autopsy, full 'reconciliation' of in- and out-migrations, follow-up of migrants departing the study area, recording of extra-household social connections and linkage of individual HDSS records with those from sub-district clinics. Fostering effective collaborations (including INDEPTH multi-centre work in adult health and ageing and migration and urbanization), ensuring cross-site compatibility of common variables and optimizing public access to HDSS data are priorities.
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| 9. |
- Kahn, Kathleen, et al.
(författare)
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Research into health, population, and social transitions in rural South Africa : data and methods of the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 35:Suppl. 69, s. 8-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rationale for study: Vital registration is generally lacking in infrastructurally weak areas where health and development problems are most pressing. Health and demographic surveillance is a response to the lack of a valid information base that can provide high-quality longitudinal data on population dynamics, health, and social change to inform policy and practice. Design and measurement procedures: Continuous demographic monitoring of an entire geographically defined population involves a multi-round, prospective community study, with annual recording of all vital events (births, deaths, migrations). Status observations and special modules add value to particular research areas. A verbal autopsy is conducted on every death to determine its probable cause. A geographic surveillance system supports spatial analyses, and strengthens field management.Population and sample size considerations: Health and demographic surveillance covers the Agincourt sub-district population, sited in rural north-eastern South Africa, of some 70,000 people (nearly a third are Mozambican immigrants) in 21 villages and 11,700 households. Data enumerated are consistent or more detailed when compared with national sources; strategies to improve incomplete data, such as counts of perinatal deaths, have been introduced with positive effect.Basic characteristics: A major health and demographic transition was documented over a 12-year period with marked changes in population structure, escalating mortality, declining fertility, and high levels of temporary migration increasing particularly amongst women. A dual burden of infectious and non-communicable disease exists against a background of dramatically progressing HIV/AIDS.Potential and research questions: Health and demographic surveillance sites - fundamental to the INDEPTH Network - generate research questions and hypotheses from empirical data, highlight health, social and population priorities, provide cost-effective support for diverse study designs, and track population change and the impact of interventions over time.
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| 14. |
- Williams, Jill, et al.
(författare)
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Convergence in fertility of South Africans and Mozambicans in rural South Africa, 1993-2009
- 2013
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 6:1, s. 20-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Although there are significant numbers of people displaced by war in Africa, very little is known about long-term changes in the fertility of refugees. Refugees of the Mozambican civil war (1977-1992) settled in many neighbouring countries, including South Africa. A large number of Mozambican refugees settled within the Agincourt sub-district, underpinned by a Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance Site (AHDSS), established in 1992, and have remained there. The AHDSS data provide a unique opportunity to study changes in fertility over time and the role that the fertility of self-settled refugee populations plays in the overall fertility level of the host community, a highly relevant factor in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa.Objectives: To examine the change in fertility of former Mozambican self-settled refugees over a period of 16 years and to compare the overall fertility and fertility patterns of Mozambicans to host South Africans.Methods: Prospective data from the AHDSS on births from 1993 to 2009 were used to compare fertility trends and patterns and to examine socio-economic factors that may be associated with fertility change.Results: There has been a sharp decline in fertility in the Mozambican population and convergence in fertility patterns of Mozambican and local South African women. The convergence of fertility patterns coincides with a convergence in other socio-economic factors.Conclusion: The fertility of Mozambicans has decreased significantly and Mozambicans are adopting the childbearing patterns of South African women. The decline in Mozambican fertility has occurred alongside socio-economic gains. There remains, however, high unemployment and endemic poverty in the area and fertility is not likely to decrease further without increased delivery of family planning to adolescents and increased education and job opportunities for women.
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