Quality Education

The Plan of Action on Population and Poverty, adopted in Bangkok in December 2002 by the members and associate members of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), recognized that there remained major challenges in the areas of population, sustainable development and poverty; migration; ageing; gender; reproductive health including the need of adolescents; HIV and AIDS; and resource mobilization. They committed themselves to address these issues.

Over the past few decades, the world population has been ageing at a phenomenal pace. Some demographers claim that population ageing in the twentieth century represents a human success story, and that for the first time in the history of mankind, human populations have the luxury of ageing (Kinsella and Velkoff, 2001).

Different studies on variations of cause-specific mortality provide different policy implications and suggestions. Some findings mirror existing health care and services. Costantini and others (2000) concluded that differences in proportions of cancer patients dying at home across 13 provinces in Italy could not be explained by the known determinants, suggesting inappropriate hospital admission in the terminal phase of cancer. A study on geographical variations in breast cancer mortality in older American women by Goodwin and others (2002) suggested ways to improve the quality of breast cancer care. Some studies suggest further research in specific areas.

The rapid decline of fertility in China during the 1970s coincided with a rapid rise in the educational attainment of Chinese women. This coincidence raises questions about the role and importance of educational change in China’s fertility decline, which this article attempts to answer.

Information plays a critical role in changing people’s and Governments’ attitudes about population issues. Because information is considered one of the pillars upon which the success of population policies and programmes is based, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) made it a priority area of its population activities since the formation of its Clearing-house and Information Section as part of the Population Division.

Worldwide, stigma and discrimination have been identified as tremendous barriers to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, beginning with Jonathan Mann in the 1980s (Mann, 1987), and by others (UNAIDS, 2001, 2008; Reidpath, Brijnath and Chan, 2005; APN+, 2004). Stigma was defined by Goffman (1963) nearly half a century ago as a discrediting attribute about an individual or group that serves to devalue that person or group in the eyes of the society. More recent theoretical frameworks suggest that stigmatization and discrimination are manifest in a number of contexts, including within families, communities, schools, employment, travel/ migration opportunities, health-care settings and HIV/AIDS programmes (Parker and Aggleton, 2002), and in religion and the media (Malcolm and others, 1998). A study in four countries in Asia found pervasive discrimination, with 80 per cent of respondents having experienced AIDS-related discrimination, including nearly one in five facing discrimination within their families and in their workplaces (APN+, 2004). In a review of interventions to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma, Brown, MacIntyre and Trujillo (2003) noted that stigma affects prevention behaviours, test-seeking, care-seeking, quality of care provided to positive clients, and perceptions and treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS by communities and families. Parker and others (2002) contend that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is often layered upon other stigma, for example, the one associated with engaging in illegal behaviour, such as sex work and drug use. Furthermore, families with HIV-positive members often face stigma from the community. In order to combat stigma and the associated discrimination, it is important to understand the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes and how they vary across groups within a country. Such knowledge is critical for designing interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination.

One of the dramatic demographic changes that is taking place, in both developing and industrialized countries, is the increasing proportion of elderly (people 60 years of age and above) in the total population.

While health care is accorded priority by Asian and Pacific countries in addressing the rapid ageing of their populations, only some include long-term care as part of a continuum of care available in institutional and non-institutional settings with formal and informal caregivers. Measures for avoidable (preventive and amenable) mortality contribute towards preventive long-term care. The delivery of health care by health professionals, allied health professionals and auxiliary care workers is discussed in this review, with examples of the training of nurses and social workers to show the range and variety of training available in the region. Caregiving is increasingly undertaken by migrant domestic and care workers and by volunteer health workers, often as part of community organizations. Institutional care is often perceived as abandonment and de-institutionalization is thus pursued as an “asset-light” policy option. But it should be supported as ageing-in-place, community-based services and platforms, with the integration of health and social care, innovative approaches for engagement and participation, and technology, all of which require trained human resources with the necessary skills and competencies. Other measures to strengthen care provision and support to older persons include expanding filial piety to social piety, changing mindsets and combating ageism for social solidarity and collective responsibility. It also includes measurement and monitoring mechanisms for accountability and course correction.

The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) held its Twenty-first International Population Conference at New Delhi from 20 to 27 September 1989. The Conference, which was organized at the invitation of the Indian Association for the Study of Population (IASP), was opened by India’s Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi.

The 1988 Viet Nam Demographic Survey was the first country-wide demographic survey of Viet Nam. The sample was drawn according to the sample design recommended by the World Fertility Survey (WFS). It was a three-stage random probability sample of 4,800 households in 12 provinces and 151 communes.

Probably the most important demographic development to occur during the last quarter century has been the onset of fertility decline in a number of third world countries. While most Sub-Saharan African countries as well as a number in the Middle East and West Asia have yet to participate in this phenomenon, fertility in countries elsewhere in Asia and in much of Latin America has started down a path towards levels far lower than have ever prevailed in their modern histories. Given that mortality declines preceded the fall in fertility, and that most of these populations have been experiencing unprecedented rapid population growth rates at levels that would lead to extraordinary numbers of people in just decades, most observers concerned with population matters view the onset of fertility decline as a logical and welcome development.

Despite the well-documented benefits of breast-feeding for both infant and mother, breast-feeding has, until recently, been given little support. World Health Organization data (WHO, 1981) support the conclusion that, as countries undergo socio-economic development, there is a tendency for the incidence of breast-feeding to decline (Kent, 1981). Many factors contribute to such changes in breast-feeding behaviour. Whilst urbanization and industrialization have been associated historically with declines in breast-feeding (and indeed still appear to be in certain developing countries), the proportion of mothers now returning to breast-feeding in some industrialized countries, e.g. Sweden and the United States of America, is increasing.

Fertility behaviour is determined mainly by the characteristics of individuals, but also by social, cultural, community and institutional factors. The primary aim of this article is to investigate the influence of social and economic institutions on fertility and contraception.

This review examines telemedicine practices, which are separated into teleconsultations and telemonitoring, that have applied information and communication technologies (ICT) for the delivery of health-care services to older persons in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia and China. The practices featured from the Republic of Korea and Japan are telemedicine pilot projects to manage chronic disease patients more efficiently and at lower cost. The projects included a health management curriculum, with emphasis on nutrition and exercise guidance. The participants in each pilot project found the services to be helpful in managing their health; the project evaluation findings also indicated several meaningful medical improvements. In Australia, a Home Monitoring of Chronic Disease for Aged Care Project was designed in 2014 to manage ageing patients with chronic diseases at home through various telemedicine devices. In China, the Ningbo Cloud Hospital was established in 2015 to control increasing health-care expenses and to resolve difficulties for individuals to see a doctor. More than 2,000 patients are now registered for online video consultations and prescriptions. The featured examples illustrate how the application of telemedicine to a health-care system not only promotes accessibility between doctors and patients but can save on construction costs for new facilities and the cost of supplying medical personnel in remote areas, which thus can help reduce national medical expenses. However, to initiate ICT-based health-care service delivery, governments in Asia and the Pacific need to first establish related policies that promote telemedicine.

Singapore is one of the first Asian countries to have adopted a vigorous population programme as part of its socio-economic development strategy. In 1966, when the Singapore Government established the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board (SFPPB) to offer family planning services and to disseminate the small family norm, the population was growing at about 2 per cent per year and the total fertility rate (TFR) stood at 4.7. Having just separated from Malaysia, Singapore was trying hard to gain a firm political and economic footing. The withdrawal of foreign military personnel based in Singapore further aggravated the unsettling economic base. The need to curb rapid population growth was obvious, and population control was viewed as critical in balancing the available economic resources with the demands of an increasing population.