Aging
Trends in Disability and Functioning Among Older Adults in the United States and Taiwan
Rapid and widespread population aging is one of the foremost demographic phenomena of the twenty-first century in both the developed and developing world. A fundamental questions regarding the increase in survival is whether or not the extra years of life are being spent in good or bad health. Recent Council research in the United States and Taiwan explores this question. The researchers conclude that Taiwan does not appear to have been experiencing the same improvement in late-life health as has been occurring in the United States.
Study Design
New Operations Research Handbook Targets HIV/AIDS
As the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic increases, it becomes more and more important to develop effective programs to prevent, treat, and mitigate its effects. Population Council public health and operations research experts Andrew A. Fisher and James R. Foreit have coauthored Designing HIV/AIDS Intervention Studies: An Operations Research Handbook. The book, written for program administrators, is a step-by-step guide to creating operations research proposals that could yield improved HIV/AIDS programs.
Transitions to Adulthood
Adolescent Behavior in the Context of AIDS in South Africa
South Africa is one of the countries hardest hit by HIV. Nearly 25 percent of the women who obtain antenatal care in South Africa are living with HIV; in the country’s most populous province, KwaZulu-Natal, the figure is 34 percent. Risky sexual behavior among youth is common; more than 35 percent of 19-year-old South African girls have been pregnant at least once. A recent study, “Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of AIDS in South Africa,” investigates factors that may influence the lives and sexual behavior of young people in KwaZulu-Natal. The working papers discussed in this article analyze evidence from the first round of data collection.
Biomedical Research
Mirena-Induced Drop in Menstrual Bleeding Studied
Researchers have known for years that the contraceptive Mirena® drastically reduces the excessive menstrual bleeding experienced by some women with uterine fibroids. They did not know for certain, however, what molecular mechanism accounted for this improvement in symptoms. Obstetrician and gynecologist Takeshi Maruo of Kobe University collaborated with Elof Johansson and Irving Spitz, of the Population Council and others to determine the underlying molecular cause of changes in the endometrium of women using Mirena.
Demography
End to Childbearing Delays Could Lead to Fertility Rise
With fertility in much of the developed world at historic lows, a lively debate has emerged among demographers and policymakers: How low will it go? A study by demographer John Bongaarts, a Population Council vice president, tackles this question by analyzing the implications of changes in the timing of childbearing. The study concludes that fertility in many developed countries, especially those in the European Union, could soon rise somewhat.
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