Understanding the socio-economic factors of a specific region and how these factors influence each other is crucial to framing societal problems in the right context and finding constructive solutions. Aside from the obvious advantages and positive impact that such research can have, it also has the potential to open up new and innovative business opportunities. It is also a well-known fact that socio-economic factors hugely influence purchase behaviours amidst specific populations.
Since my primary reason for enrolling in this course is to ultimately learn how to interpret data in a way that is meaningful for businesses and consequently make informed decisions, I am interested in choosing a data set from GapMinder.
The GapMinder has a huge collection of socio-economic indicators from across the world.
Data Set Selected : GapMinder [http://www.gapminder.org/data/]
Primary Research Question: Is asphyxia death in newborns associated with births attended by skilled health staff?
Past research and inference
Skilled health staff at birth is associated with decreased neonatal mortality[1] as well as maternal mortality[2] in many regions. I would like to examine if death in newborns caused specifically by asphyxia is similarly negatively correlated to births attended by skilled health staff.
Following my primary research question, I would also like to examine the factors influencing the use of skilled birth attendants.
The presence of a skilled health staff at birth is a crucial element in neonatal health. A study of determinants of use of skilled birth attendant at delivery in Makueni, Kenya[3] concluded that there is a positive correlation between a woman’s education level, partner’s education level, and the utilization of skilled delivery.
Therefore I expect a similarly positive correlation between the utilization of skilled birth attendants and increased education attainment on a global scale. My follow-up research will therefore examine whether the utilization of skilled birth attendants is correlated to education attainment uniformly across the globe.
Follow-up Research Question : Is the number of births attended by skilled health staff associated with increased educational attainment in the population?
Variables Selected
I will be selecting the following variables from the data set for my research.
- Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total)
- Birth asphyxia deaths in newborn (per 1,000 births)
- Birth asphyxia deaths in newborn (total deaths)
- Mean years in school (men 25 to 34 years)
- Mean years in school (men 25 years and older)
- Mean years in school (women % men, 25 to 34 years)
- Mean years in school (women 25 to 34 years)
- Mean years in school (women 25 years and older)
- Mean years in school (women of reproductive age 15 to 44)
Code Book
| Variable name | Description of Indicator | Main Source |
| Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) | Births attended by skilled health staff are the percentage of deliveries attended by personnel trained to give the necessary supervision, care, and advice to women during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period; to conduct deliveries on their own; and to care for newborns. Source: UNICEF, State of the World’s Children, Childinfo, and Demographic and Health Surveys by Macro International. | World Bank |
| neonatal-Birth asphyxia | GapMinder | |
| Mean years in school (men between 25 and 34 years old) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| Mean years in school (men 25 and older) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| Mean years in school (women aged 25 to 34 as % men of same age) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| Mean years in school (women between 25 and 34 years old) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| Mean years in school (women 25 and older) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| Mean years in school (women of reproductive age, 15 to 44) | The average number of years of school attended by all people in the age and gender group specified, including primary, secondary and tertiary education. | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
References
Singh, K., Brodish, P., & Suchindran, C. (2014). A Regional Multilevel Analysis: Can Skilled Birth Attendants Uniformly Decrease Neonatal Mortality?Maternal and Child Health Journal, 18(1), 10.1007/s10995–013–1260–7. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1260-7
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2014) 10.1186/1471-2393-14-311
Gitimu, A., Herr, C., Oruko, H., Karijo, E., Gichuki, R., Ofware, P., … Nyagero, J. (2015). Determinants of use of skilled birth attendant at delivery in Makueni, Kenya: a cross sectional study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15, 9. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-015-0442-2