Kathleen Kahn
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 228502 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Kathleen Kahn |
| NOMBRES | Kathleen |
| APELLIDO | Kahn |
| FIRMA | KAHN K |
| AFILIACIONES | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3339-3931 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 164 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 170 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 164 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1992 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 8 |
Episodic memory trajectories of older adults with and without HIV
With the introduction of antiretroviral treatment (ART), life expectancy among people with HIV in South Africa has increased substantially. This ageing population faces age-related challenges, including cognitive decline. Yet, differences in cognitive trends between people with and without HIV remain poorly understood. We analyzed longitudinal data on 3,066 adults aged 40 + years in rural South Africa from the “Health and Aging in Africa: Longitu…
Cash transfers targeting adolescent wellbeing
Creating healthy food environments is central to improving adolescent nutrition; a life-stage characterised by rapid growth, body composition changes and heightened nutrient requirements. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), cash transfer (CT) programmes are increasingly implemented as poverty-alleviation strategies to influence diet quality and related health behaviours by relaxing household budget constraints. While evidence demonstrate…
Cohort Prevalence Estimates Are Sensitive to Prebaseline Mortality
All cohorts are conditioned on survival to a study's baseline. The validity of estimates drawn from these cohorts of survivors may be compromised if those who die prior to enrollment have different covariate structures than survivors. In this research note, we used data from the “HAALSI Cohort” (Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa) of older adults in rural South Africa and a “Mortality Cohort” …
Viral load dynamics among adults receiving HIV care in rural North-Eastern South Africa, 2015–2020
Introduction: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS set ambitious-but-reachable targets to have 95% of HIV-positive people diagnosed, 95% on ART, and 95% virally suppressed by 2030. To address the latter, post-2016, South Africa's HIV treatment guidelines aimed to deliver maximal and durable viral load (VL) suppression through extensive antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up. Yet, standard suppression one-off measurement conceals viral re…
Changes in the provision and utilisation of health care services for chronic health conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic in rural northeast South Africa
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the provision and utilisation of health care services with varying magnitude across settings due to spatial temporal variation in the burden of COVID-19 cases and the roll-out of local COVID-19 response policies. This study assesses changes in the provision and utilisation of health care services for three major chronic health conditions (HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and diabetes) over the pre-COVID-19 an…
Trajectories and predictors of HIV care retention among individuals receiving ART in rural South Africa
Background: Successful retention in care of people living with HIV remains a challenge and a cornerstone of ending the epidemic. A better understanding of retention predictors could guide an evidence-based approach to target interventions. We sought to characterise HIV care retention trajectories among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a rural South Africa setting, and to determine factors associated with those trajectories. M…
Health system and social determinants influencing potential PrEP access among young men in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa
Young heterosexual men face HIV risk in South Africa's generalized HIV epidemic. Although many men express interest in biomedical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), uptake of daily oral PrEP has been slow. Enhancing access to standard and alternative health care providers offering PrEP services could increase men's uptake as product options expand. We conducted in-depth interviews with 13 young men and 9 health system stakeholders in the rural Ehla…
Distribution of Informal Caregiving for Older Adults Living With or At Risk of Cognitive Decline Within and Beyond Family in Rural South Africa
Objectives Aging populations will increasingly need care, much of this provided informally particularly in rural areas and in low and middle-income countries. In rural South Africa, formal support is severely limited, and adult children are frequently unavailable due to morbidity, early mortality, employment, and migration. We describe how care is shared within and between households. Methods We conducted quantitative interviews with 1,012 househ…
Stress-responsive biomarkers and sexual behaviors among young women in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a critical period when youth develop their decision-making skills and may engage in their first sexual encounters. Stress during this time can affect decision making; however, limited research has examined the relationship between biological stress correlates and sexual behavior among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in high-HIV incidence areas. PURPOSE: To examine whether stress-responsive biomarkers are longitu…
Leadership, cohesion, and stress in primary care facilities and retention in chronic care in rural northeast South Africa before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hypertension are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in South Africa. Effective management of these conditions is critical to population health, yet patient management and retention varies by facility for reasons that are not fully understood. We assessed whether measures of clinic leadership, cohesion, and stress were associated with retention for HIV and hypertension in a cohort of pa…
Can verbal autopsies be used on a national scale? Key findings and lessons from South Africa's national cause-of-death validation study
BACKGROUND: Verbal autopsy (VA), though imperfect, serves as a vital tool to determine cause-of-death, particularly for out-of-facility deaths, but challenges persist in integrating VA into Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems. OBJECTIVE: To describe the challenges and successes of collecting a national sample of verbal autopsy interviews in South Africa to obtain the cause of death profile in 2017/18. METHODS: We recruited next of kin…
Moving towards social inclusion
BACKGROUND: Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in the context of limited resources will require prioritising the most vulnerable and ensuring health policies and services are responsive to their needs. One way of addressing this is through the engagement of marginalised voices in the priority setting process. Public engagement approaches that enable group level deliberation as well as individual level preference capturing might be valuable…
Trajectories of intimate partner violence and their relationship to stress among young women in South Africa
BACKGROUND: One in four South African women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, potentially increasing their biological stress. In South Africa, limited IPV and stress research has utilized multiple timepoints or examined modifying factors. Cash transfers (CTs) are associated with reduced IPV and stress and may be an intervention target. AIMS: We used data-driven methods to identify longitudinal IPV trajectory group…
Socio-Behavioural Barriers to Viral Suppression in the Older Adult Population in Rural South Africa
South Africa has the largest share of people living with HIV in the world and this population is ageing. The social context in which people seek HIV care is often ignored. Apart from clinical interventions, socio-behavioural factors impact successful HIV care outcomes for older adults living with HIV. We use cross-sectional data linked with demographic household surveillance data, consisting of HIV positive adults aged above 40, to identify socio…
The Association Between HIV-Related Stigma and the Uptake of HIV Testing and ART Among Older Adults in Rural South Africa
HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain critical for curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS, but stigma can impede access to these services. Using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we used a multivariable logistic regression to examine the correlation between HIV-related stigma, HIV testing and ART uptake in older adults. We used four questions to measure stigma, w…
Impact of the South African Child Support Grant on memory decline and dementia probability in rural and low-income mothers, 2014-2021
Applying CFIR to assess multi-level barriers to PrEP delivery in rural South Africa
Despite established efficacy for oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing HIV incidence, multi-level barriers within the health system, clinics, and the processes that shape practice have hindered service delivery and subsequent population-level effects. We applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to assess the context of PrEP delivery for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in rural South Africa and ident…
Assessing the durability of a cash transfer on physical intimate partner violence and sexual relationships among adolescent girls and young women in rural South Africa
The cash transfer reduced AGYW's risk of IPV, though effects were attenuated after the cash ended. Provision of cash during adolescence - a period when AGYW are highly susceptible to IPV and HIV - may empower them in their current relationship and yield long term health benefits
Indirect effects of Covid-19 on maternal and child health in South Africa
BACKGROUND: The unfinished burden of poor maternal and child health contributes to the quadruple burden of disease in South Africa with the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic yet to be fully documented. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health in different geographical regions and relative wealth quintiles. METHODS: We estimated the effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health f…
The adolescent HIV executive function and drumming (Ahead) study, a feasibility trial of a group drumming intervention amongst adolescents with HIV
AHEAD feasibility trial assessed the feasibility and acceptability of an 8-session group drumming programme aiming to improve executive function, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived social support in adolescents living with HIV in a rural low-income South African setting. Sixty-eight 12- to 19-year-old adolescents participated. They were individually randomised. The intervention arm (n = 34) received weekly hour-long group drumming ses…
Exploring the relationship between anticipated stigma and community shared concerns about HIV on defaulting from HIV care in rural South Africa
In this sample, we found limited impact of reducing anticipated stigma and increasing shared concern about HIV on retention in care. Future studies should consider the limitations of this study by examining the influence of other sources of stigma in more detail and assessing how perceptions of stigma and concern impact the full HIV testing and care cascade
Intimate partner violence is associated with cytomegalovirus among young women in rural South Africa
Stressful life circumstances (e.g. violence and poverty) have been associated with elevated biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1), among older adults in high-income settings. Yet, it remains unknown whether these relationships exist among younger populations in resource-limited settings. We therefore utilised a cohort of 1,279 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) from the…
The use of monitoring data and community feedback mechanisms to increase HIV testing among men during a cluster-randomised community mobilisation trial in South Africa
This short communication describes the development and implementation of a programme monitoring and feedback process during a cluster-randomised community mobilisation intervention conducted in rural Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Intervention activities took place from August 2015 to July 2018 with the aim of addressing social barriers to HIV counselling and testing and engagement in HIV care, with a specific focus on reaching men. Mul…
Understanding the effects of universal test and treat on longitudinal HIV care outcomes among South African youth
Implementation of UTT yielded modest improvements in time spent on ART and virally suppressed among South African YLHIV- however, meeting UNAIDS' 95-95-95 targets remains a challenge. Retention in care and re-engagement interventions that can be implemented between diagnosis and linkage to care and between ART initiation and viral suppression (e.g., longitudinal counseling) may be particularly important to improving care outcomes among South Afri…
Estimating the Prevalence of over- and Under-Reporting in HIV Testing, Status and Treatment in Rural Northeast South Africa
Assessing Changes in Household Socioeconomic Status in Rural South Africa, 2001-2013
Children's residence patterns and educational attainment in rural South Africa, 1997
Using data collected by the Agincourt Health and Population Programme in a rural sub-district of South Africa's Northern Province, this paper describes the residential arrangements of a population in rural South Africa, and analyses the impact of these arrangements on children's educational attainment. Children with co-resident parents generally have higher levels of schooling than those who have one or no co-resident parents. However, having a f…
Premarital Fertility in Rural South Africa
The age pattern of fertility in a rural area of South Africa under demographic surveillance (Agincourt subdistrict) was investigated over the 1992–97 period. The total fertility rate (TFR) averaged 3.3 births per woman of reproductive age over the period, a major drop from earlier estimates in the same area (6.0 births in 1970–74). Age‐specific fertility rates showed an atypical bimodal pattern. They were decomposed into two components of similar…
Trends in Internal Labour Migration from Rural Limpopo Province, Male Risk Behaviour, and Implications for the Spread of HIV/Aids in Rural South Africa
Given improvements in the transport infrastructure and the end of travel restrictions characteristic of the apartheid period, there could be a reasonable expectation that male risk behaviour in sexual relations would be reduced as rural-urban connections were enhanced. Using the example of Limpopo Province, South Africa, this research draws on an existing demographic surveillance system and a specialised survey to test the hypothesis. We find tha…
Interviewer-driven Variability in Social Network Reporting
Social network analysis depends on how social ties to others are elicited during interviews, a process easily affected by respondent and interviewer behaviors. We investigate how the number of self-reported important social contacts varied within a single data collection round. Our data come from Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community (HAALSI), a comprehensive population-based survey of individuals aged 40 years …
Childhood deprivation and later-life cognitive function in a population-based study of older rural South Africans
The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer on Multidimensional Deprivation of Young Women
Despite the growing popularity of multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis, its use to measure the impact of social protection programs remains scarce. Using primary data collected for the evaluation of HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 068, a randomized, conditional cash transfer intervention for young girls in South Africa that ran from 2011 to 2015, we construct an individual-level measure of multidimensional poverty, a major depar…
Understanding Marital and Premarital Fertility in Rural South Africa
The age pattern of fertility in a rural area of South Africa under health and demographic surveillance (Agincourt subdistrict) was investigated over the 1992–1997 period. The total fertility rate (number of children born, on average, to the women of this population) averaged 3.3 over the period, a major drop from earlier estimates in the same area (6.0 in 1970–1974). Age-specific fertility rates showed an atypical bimodal pattern composed of two …
The age pattern of increases in mortality affected by HIV
BACKGROUND: We investigate the sex-age-specific changes in the mortality of a prospectively monitored rural population in South Africa. We quantify changes in the age pattern of mortality in a parsimonious way by estimating the eight parameters of the Heligman-Pollard (HP) model of age-specific mortality. In its traditional form this model is difficult to fit and does not account for uncertainty. OBJECTIVE: 1. To quantify changes in the sex-age p…
Physical Function in an Aging Population in Rural South Africa
As the first HRS sister study undertaken in Africa, HAALSI adds vital information on population aging and health in the region. Continuing waves of HAALSI data will be a key resource for understanding differences in the complex processes of disability across LMIC contexts
Cognitive Function in Low-Income and Low-Literacy Settings
The OCS-Plus represents a major methodological advance in dementia studies in LMICs, and enhances understanding of cognitive aging
Development, validation, and performance of a scale to measure community mobilization
Life-Course Trauma and Later Life Mental, Physical, and Cognitive Health in a Postapartheid South African Population
Objective: To investigate the relationships between exposure to life-course traumatic events (TEs) and later life mental, physical, and cognitive health outcomes in the older population of a rural South African community. Method: Data were from baseline interviews with 2,473 adults aged ≥40 years in the population-representative Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) study, conducted in 2…
Rethinking collaboration
Following 50 years of apartheid, South Africa introduced visionary health policy committing to the right to health as part of a primary health care (PHC) approach. Implementation is seriously challenged, however, in an often-dysfunctional health system with scarce resources and a complex burden of avoidable mortality persists. Our aim was to develop a process generating evidence of practical relevance on implementation processes among people excl…
Context matters
The epidemiology of ‘bewitchment’ as a lay-reported cause of death in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Cases of premature death in Africa may be attributed to witchcraft. In such settings, medical registration of causes of death is rare. To fill this gap, verbal autopsy (VA) methods record signs and symptoms of the deceased before death as well as lay opinion regarding the cause of death; this information is then interpreted to derive a medical cause of death. In the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, South Africa, aro…
Health Care Providers' Challenges to High-Quality HIV Care and Antiretroviral Treatment Retention in Rural South Africa
Provision of high-quality HIV care is challenging, especially in rural primary care clinics in high HIV burden settings. We aimed to better understand the main challenges to quality HIV care provision and retention in antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs in rural South Africa from the health care providers' perspective. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 23 providers from nine rural clinics. Using thematic and framework a…
Impairment in Activities of Daily Living, Care Receipt, and Unmet Needs in a Middle-Aged and Older Rural South African Population
Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyze the degree to which care needs are met in an aging rural African population. Method: Using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community (HAALSI) baseline survey, which interviewed 5,059 adults aged older than 40 years in rural South Africa, we assessed the levels of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and in unmet care for these ADLs, and ev…
Quality of integrated chronic disease care in rural South Africa
The integrated chronic disease management (ICDM) model was introduced as a response to the dual burden of HIV/AIDS and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa, one of the first of such efforts by an African Ministry of Health. The aim of the ICDM model is to leverage HIV programme innovations to improve the quality of chronic disease care. There is a dearth of literature on the perspectives of healthcare providers and users on the qualit…
Collective efficacy, alcohol outlet density, and young men’s alcohol use in rural South Africa
Alcohol use contributes to morbidity and mortality in developing countries by increasing the risk of trauma and disease, including alcohol dependence. Limited research addresses determinants of alcohol use beyond the individual level in sub-Saharan Africa. We test the association of community collective efficacy and alcohol outlet density with young men's drinking in a cross-sectional, locally representative survey conducted in rural northeast So…
Planning professional education at schools of public health
OBJECTIVES. Professional education in public health should equip graduates with adequate knowledge and skills to manage diverse and complex problems. How best to address this challenge is widely debated. We describe the Harvard School of Public Health's self-evaluation and development of a practice-oriented program. METHODS. As part of Harvard's schoolwide review of the master of public health (MPH), self-administered questionnaires were distribu…
Distribution of Informal Caregiving for Older Adults Living With or At Risk of Cognitive Decline Within and Beyond Family in Rural South Africa
Objectives Aging populations will increasingly need care, much of this provided informally particularly in rural areas and in low and middle-income countries. In rural South Africa, formal support is severely limited, and adult children are frequently unavailable due to morbidity, early mortality, employment, and migration. We describe how care is shared within and between households. Methods We conducted quantitative interviews with 1,012 househ…
The associations between interpersonal violence and psychological distress among rural and urban young women in South Africa
The implications of long term community involvement for the production and circulation of population knowledge
Demographic surveillance systems (DSS) depend on community acceptance and involvement to produce high quality longitudinal data. Ensuring community support also exposes power relations usually concealed in the research process. We discuss the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System in South Africa to argue that: 1) long-term presence and community involvement contribute to high response rates and data quality, 2) to maintain communit…
Planning professional education at schools of public health
OBJECTIVES. Professional education in public health should equip graduates with adequate knowledge and skills to manage diverse and complex problems. How best to address this challenge is widely debated. We describe the Harvard School of Public Health's self-evaluation and development of a practice-oriented program. METHODS. As part of Harvard's schoolwide review of the master of public health (MPH), self-administered questionnaires were distribu…
Premarital Fertility in Rural South Africa
The age pattern of fertility in a rural area of South Africa under demographic surveillance (Agincourt subdistrict) was investigated over the 1992–97 period. The total fertility rate (TFR) averaged 3.3 births per woman of reproductive age over the period, a major drop from earlier estimates in the same area (6.0 births in 1970–74). Age‐specific fertility rates showed an atypical bimodal pattern. They were decomposed into two components of similar…
Understanding Marital and Premarital Fertility in Rural South Africa
The age pattern of fertility in a rural area of South Africa under health and demographic surveillance (Agincourt subdistrict) was investigated over the 1992–1997 period. The total fertility rate (number of children born, on average, to the women of this population) averaged 3.3 over the period, a major drop from earlier estimates in the same area (6.0 in 1970–1974). Age-specific fertility rates showed an atypical bimodal pattern composed of two …
Children's residence patterns and educational attainment in rural South Africa, 1997
Using data collected by the Agincourt Health and Population Programme in a rural sub-district of South Africa's Northern Province, this paper describes the residential arrangements of a population in rural South Africa, and analyses the impact of these arrangements on children's educational attainment. Children with co-resident parents generally have higher levels of schooling than those who have one or no co-resident parents. However, having a f…
Trends in Internal Labour Migration from Rural Limpopo Province, Male Risk Behaviour, and Implications for the Spread of HIV/Aids in Rural South Africa
Given improvements in the transport infrastructure and the end of travel restrictions characteristic of the apartheid period, there could be a reasonable expectation that male risk behaviour in sexual relations would be reduced as rural-urban connections were enhanced. Using the example of Limpopo Province, South Africa, this research draws on an existing demographic surveillance system and a specialised survey to test the hypothesis. We find tha…
Research into health, population and social transitions in rural South Africa
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…
Returning home to die
Aim: To examine the hypothesis that circular labour migrants who become seriously ill while living away from home return to their rural homes to convalesce and possibly to die. Methods: Drawing on longitudinal data collected by the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system in rural northeastern South Africa between 1995 and 2004, discrete time event history analysis is used to estimate the likelihood of dying for residents, short-term …
Migration, settlement change and health in post-apartheid South Africa
Background: World population growth will be increasingly concentrated in the urban areas of the developing world; however, some scholars caution against the oversimplification of African urbanization noting that there may be ``counterurbanization'' and a prevailing pattern of circular rural—urban migration. The aim of the paper is to examine the ongoing urban transition in South Africa in the post-apartheid period, and to consider the health and …
The implications of long term community involvement for the production and circulation of population knowledge
Demographic surveillance systems (DSS) depend on community acceptance and involvement to produce high quality longitudinal data. Ensuring community support also exposes power relations usually concealed in the research process. We discuss the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System in South Africa to argue that: 1) long-term presence and community involvement contribute to high response rates and data quality, 2) to maintain communit…
ÂYou opened our eyesâ
Caregivers of young children identified as HIV positive, residing in Agincourt, rural South Africa were advised of their child's status. How was this knowledge received, and how did it influence care-giving and support? Interviews were conducted in May to June 2008 with caregivers of HIV positive children aged 1-5 years, 1 year following the child's HIV test and disclosure of status. Drawing on data from 31 semi-structured questionnaires and 21 i…
Space and time clustering of mortality in rural South Africa (Agincourt HDSS), 1992–2007
BACKGROUND: Detailed information regarding the spatial and/or spatial-temporal distribution of mortality is required for the efficient implementation and targeting of public health interventions. OBJECTIVES: Identify high risk clusters of mortality within the Agincourt subdistrict for targeting of public health interventions, and highlight areas for further research. DESIGN: Mortality data were extracted from the Agincourt health and socio-demogr…
Assessing health and well-being among older people in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: The population in developing countries is ageing, which is likely to increase the burden of non-communicable diseases and disability. OBJECTIVE: To describe factors associated with self-reported health, disability and quality of life (QoL) of older people in the rural northeast of South Africa. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of 6,206 individuals aged 50 and over. We used multivariate analysis to examine relationships between demograph…
Health inequalities among older men and women in Africa and Asia
BACKGROUND: Declining rates of fertility and mortality are driving demographic transition in all regions of the world, leading to global population ageing and consequently changing patterns of global morbidity and mortality. Understanding sex-related health differences, recognising groups at risk of poor health and identifying determinants of poor health are therefore very important for both improving health trajectories and planning for the heal…
Improving public health training and research capacity in Africa
BACKGROUND: Research training for public health professionals is key to the future of public health and policy in Africa. A growing number of schools of public health are connected to health and socio-demographic surveillance system field sites in developing countries, in Africa and Asia in particular. Linking training programs with these sites provides important opportunities to improve training, build local research capacity, foreground local h…
Building capacity for public and population health research in Africa
BACKGROUND: Globally, sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden of disease. Strengthened research capacity to understand the social determinants of health among different African populations is key to addressing the drivers of poor health and developing interventions to improve health outcomes and health systems in the region. Yet, the continent clearly lacks centers of research excellence that can generate a strong evidence base to address th…
Ageing and adult health status in eight lower-income countries
BACKGROUND: Globally, ageing impacts all countries, with a majority of older persons residing in lower- and middle-income countries now and into the future. An understanding of the health and well-being of these ageing populations is important for policy and planning; however, research on ageing and adult health that informs policy predominantly comes from higher-income countries. A collaboration between the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult h…
Young and vulnerable
This study demonstrates the use of Bayesian geostatistical models in assessing risk factors and producing smooth maps of infant mortality risk in a health and socio-demographic surveillance system. Results showed marked geographical differences in mortality risk across a relatively small area. Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV and survival of mothers during the infants' first year in high prevalence villages needs to be urgently addresse…
The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity, and metabolic disease risk in rural South African children
The study highlights that in transitional societies, early stunting and adolescent obesity may co-exist in the same socio-geographic population. It is likely that this profile relates to changes in nutrition and diet, but variation in factors such as infectious disease burden and physical activity patterns, as well as social influences, need to be investigated. As obesity and adult short stature are risk factors for metabolic syndrome and Type 2 …
Predictors of adolescent weight status and central obesity in rural South Africa
Objective To investigate predictors of adolescent obesity in rural South Africa. Design Cross-sectional study. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured using standard procedures. Overweight and obesity in adolescents aged 10–17 years were assessed using the International Obesity Taskforce cut-offs, while the WHO adult cut-offs were used for participants aged 18–20 years. Waist-to-height ratio of >0·5 defined central obesity in those a…
The effect of the HIV epidemic and other factors on mortality in older people in rural South Africa
Background Populations in subSaharan Africa are ageing, despite the devastating effect of the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in many countries. In South Africa the ageing population and the consequent increase in the prevalence of the chronic diseases of ageing is forming part of a complex and rapid health and social transition. To understand better the health and mortality experience of older people, we have carried out a 3 year fol…
Data Resource Profile
Population ageing is rapidly becoming a global issue and will have a major impact on health policies and programmes. The World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) aims to address the gap in reliable data and scientific knowledge on ageing and health in low- and middle-income countries. SAGE is a longitudinal study with nationally representative samples of persons aged 50+ years in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russ…
Profile
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 a…
Strengthening standardised interpretation of verbal autopsy data
BACKGROUND: Verbal autopsy (VA) is the only available approach for determining the cause of many deaths, where routine certification is not in place. Therefore, it is important to use standards and methods for VA that maximise efficiency, consistency and comparability. The World Health Organization (WHO) has led the development of the 2012 WHO VA instrument as a new standard, intended both as a research tool and for routine registration of deaths…
The epidemiology of ‘bewitchment’ as a lay-reported cause of death in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Cases of premature death in Africa may be attributed to witchcraft. In such settings, medical registration of causes of death is rare. To fill this gap, verbal autopsy (VA) methods record signs and symptoms of the deceased before death as well as lay opinion regarding the cause of death; this information is then interpreted to derive a medical cause of death. In the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, South Africa, aro…
Retracted
BACKGROUND: South Africa is experiencing a demographic and epidemiological transition with an increase in population aged 50 years and older and rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases. This, coupled with high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence, puts an already weak health service under greater strain. OBJECTIVE: To measure self-reported chronic health conditions and chronic disease risk factors, including smoking and alcohol use, and to esta…
Medicine (146 obras) · Environmental health (99 obras) · Demography (89 obras) · Population (81 obras) · Public health (68 obras) · Psychology (64 obras) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (58 obras) · Gerontology (55 obras) · Sociology (55 obras) · Geography (49 obras)