Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Hobcraft

Publications and source records attributed to J Hobcraft.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Childhood poverty, early motherhood and adult social exclusion.

Childhood poverty and early parenthood are both high on the current political agenda. The key new issue that this research addresses is the relative importance of childhood poverty and of early motherhood as correlates of outcomes later in life. How far are the 'effects' of early motherhood on later outcomes due to childhood precursors, especially experience of childhood poverty? Subsidiary questions relate to the magnitude of these associations, the particular levels of childhood poverty that prove most critical, and whether, as often assumed, only teenage mothers are subsequently disadvantaged, or are those who have their first birth in their early twenties similarly disadvantaged? The source of data for this study is the National Child Development Study. We examine outcomes at age 33 for several domains of adult social exclusion: welfare, socio-economic, physical health, emotional well-being and demographic behaviour. We control for a wide range of childhood factors: poverty; social class of origin and of father; mother's and father's school leaving age; family structure; housing tenure; mother's and father's interest in education; personality attributes; performance on educational tests; and contact with the police by age 16. There are clear associations for the adult outcomes with age at first birth, even after controlling for childhood poverty and the other childhood background factors. Moreover, we demonstrate that the widest gulf in adult outcomes occurs for those who enter motherhood early (before age 23), though further reinforced by teenage motherhood for most adult outcomes. We also show that any experience of childhood poverty is clearly associated with adverse outcomes in adulthood, with reinforcement for higher levels of childhood poverty for a few outcomes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Every death counts: measurement of maternal mortality via a census.

Methods for measuring maternal mortality at national and subnational levels in the developing world lag far behind the demand for estimates. We evaluated use of the national population census as a means of measuring maternal mortality by assessing data from five countries (Benin, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe) which identified maternal deaths in their censuses. Standard demographic methods were used to evaluate the completeness of reporting of adult female deaths and births in the year prior to the census. The results from these exercises were used to adjust the data. In four countries, the numbers of adult female deaths needed to be increased and three countries required upward adjustment of the numbers of recent births. The number of maternal deaths was increased by the same factor as that used for adult female deaths on the assumption that the proportion of adult female deaths due to maternal causes was correct. Age patterns of the various maternal mortality indicators were plausible and consistent with external sources of data for other populations. Our data suggest that under favourable conditions a national census is a feasible and promising approach for the measurement of maternal mortality. Moreover, use of the census circumvents several of the weaknesses of methods currently in use. However, it should also be noted that careful evaluation of the data and adjustment, if necessary, are essential. The public health community is urged to encourage governments to learn from the experience of these five countries and to place maternal mortality estimation in the hands of statistical agencies.

Censuses↗
PubMed1996

Fertility in England and Wales: a fifty-year perspective.

This paper provides a detailed account of fertility levels and trends in England and Wales since 1938, with a briefer coverage of a much longer time-span. The paper is concerned both with the measurement of fertility and with understanding the observed fertility behaviour. We lament and correct the failure of demographers to apply measurement tools available since the 1950s to the analysis of fertility in England and Wales, with a particular emphasis on adjustment of period measures and period parity progression ratios and show how some of the grosser errors of analysis and interpretation might have been avoided by earlier use of these approaches. We also relate these estimates to more recent ones. Once a clearer account of trends has been established, the paper goes on to reinterpret and explain the baby boom and baby bust. The conclusion looks at future prospects for fertility.

Fertility↗
PubMed1993

Women's education, child welfare and child survival: a review of the evidence.

This paper reviews recent evidence concerning the relative importance of women's education for child health, especially child survival in the Third World. Important regional patterns are uncovered, and particular attention is paid to discussion of the weaker associations observed in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa South of the Sahara↗
PubMed1991

The case for samples of anonymized records from the 1991 census.

"The census of population represents a rich source of social data. Other countries have released samples of anonymized records from their censuses to the research community for secondary analysis. So far this has not been done in Britain. The areas of research which might be expected to benefit from such microdata are outlined, and support is drawn from considering experience overseas. However, it is essential to protect the confidentiality of the data. The paper therefore considers the risks, both real and perceived, of identification of individuals from census microdata. The conclusion of the paper is that the potential benefits from census microdata are large and that the risks in terms of disclosure are very small. The authors therefore argue that the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and the General Register Office of Scotland should release samples of anonymized records from the 1991 census for secondary analysis."

Censuses↗
PubMed1987

Mortality.

The author surveys the contributions of the U.N. Population Division to the study of mortality and elaborates the three that he considers to be the most significant. "They are synthesizing the findings of national and regional research on mortality issues; developing and disseminating methods for improving estimates of levels and trends in mortality and standards of analysis; and bringing together researchers working from different perspectives to discuss mortality issues of global importance and disseminating the results of those meetings to potential users." Publications, reports, model life tables, and other tools created by the Population Division are identified.

Communication↗
PubMed1986

Demographic event history analysis: a selective review.

This is a selective review of the literature concerning demographic event history analysis. "We have attempted to emphasize work that we consider to be particularly important or innovative, to note some of the difficulties that may arise with the use of event history analysis, and to point to several substantive areas where research is still poorly developed."

Data Collection↗