The research on sex-differential mortality indicates that, contrary to the experience of other countries where, in the last century, females have consistently shown an advantage over males in life expectancy, the reverse has been observed in some parts of the Indian Subcontinent. Recent studies in the area have confirmed this female disadvantage in her chances of survival, especially in the reproductive ages. The present investigation is a detailed examination of the hypothesis that: there are sex-differentials in mortality and health care, and low levels of family planning, to the disadvantage of females. The data was collected by means of a census in 22 villages of Daudzai thane and Michni tribal area in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The 2,070 households in the selected villages were interviewed by trained enumerators using a formal questionnaire. A detailed description of the area was given as a background to the study. The analysis of the mortality results by the indirect methods based on retrospective questions on childhood mortality, and on orphanhood, widowhood and siblings status indicated that the standard application of these methods did not take into account the idiosyncrasies of the data. Therefore, the most reliable sections of mortality estimates from the different methods were used to construct the final life table. In the results a higher female than male mortality was observed in the reproductive ages. Supplementary evidence from deaths by cause corroborated these findings. The examination of the health data indicated that there was a significant sex-difference in treatment of illness, cost of treatment and vaccination status to the disadvantage of females. The family planning results showed that, although the majority of the population had heard of family planning, few couples practised it. For those who practised family planning the main source of supply was the family planning centre. In the light of the evidence examined, it was concluded that there was validity in the hypothesis under investigation, and recommendations were made on the basis of the findings for the improvement of the status of women in the area.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:447011 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Ahmad, A. |
| Contributors | Brass, W. |
| Publisher | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/682362/ |
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