Association of greenness with COVID-19 deaths in India: An ecological study at district level.

Background: The world has witnessed a colossal death toll due to the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). A few environmental epidemiology studies have identified association of environmental factors (air pollution, greenness, temperature, etc.) with COVID-19 incidence and mortality, particularly in developed countries.

Errors in reported ages and dates in surveys of adult mortality: A record linkage study in Niakhar (Senegal).

Sibling survival histories are a major source of adult mortality estimates in countries with incomplete death registration. We evaluate age and date reporting errors in sibling histories collected during a validation study in the Niakhar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Senegal). Participants were randomly assigned to either the Demographic and Health Survey questionnaire or a questionnaire incorporating an event history calendar, recall cues, and increased probing strategies.

A comparative analysis of disability measures in Cameroonian surveys.

Background: Although identifying vulnerable groups is an important step in shaping appropriate and efficient policies for targeting populations of disabled people, it remains a challenge. This study aims to evaluate for the first time the comparability of the different disability measurements used in Cameroon. This is done by comparing them with the international standards proposed by the Washington Group (WG).

Returning home to die or leaving home to seek health care? Location of death of urban and rural residents in Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the literature on end of life is limited and focuses on place of death as an indicator of access and utilization of health-care resources. Little is known about population mobility at the end of life.

Objective: To document the magnitude, motivations and associated factors of short-term mobility before death among adults over 15 years of age in Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Adult mortality patterns in the former Soviet Union's southern tier: Armenia and Georgia in comparative perspective.

Background: While the health crisis in the former USSR has been well-documented in the case of Russia and other northern former Soviet republics, little is known about countries located in the southern tier of the region, i.e., the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Mental health and urban living in sub-Saharan Africa: major depressive episodes among the urban poor in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Background: In sub-Saharan African cities, the epidemiological transition has shifted a greater proportion of the burden of non-communicable diseases, including mental and behavioral disorder, to the adult population. The burden of major depressive disorder and its social risk factors in the urban sub-Saharan African population are not well understood and estimates vary widely. We conducted a study in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in order to estimate the prevalence of major depressive episodes among adults in this urban setting.

Improving survey data on pregnancy-related deaths in low-and middle-income countries: a validation study in Senegal.

Objective: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), siblings' survival histories (SSH) are often used to estimate maternal mortality, but SSH data on causes of death at reproductive ages have seldom been validated. We compared the accuracy of two SSH instruments: the standard questionnaire used during the demographic and health surveys (DHS) and the siblings' survival calendar (SSC), a new questionnaire designed to improve survey reports of deaths among women of reproductive ages.

Methods: We recruited 1189 respondents in a SSH survey in Niakhar, Senegal.

Non-Communicable Disease Mortality and Risk Factors in Formal and Informal Neighborhoods, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Evidence from a Health and Demographic Surveillance System.

The expected growth in NCDs in cities is one of the most important health challenges of the coming decades in Sub-Saharan countries. This paper aims to fill the gap in our understanding of socio-economic differentials in NCD mortality and risk in low and middle income neighborhoods in urban Africa. We use data collected in the Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System.

Improving the quality of adult mortality data collected in demographic surveys: validation study of a new siblings' survival questionnaire in Niakhar, Senegal.

Background: In countries with limited vital registration, adult mortality is frequently estimated using siblings' survival histories (SSHs) collected during Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). These data are affected by reporting errors. We developed a new SSH questionnaire, the siblings' survival calendar (SSC).

Reporting errors in siblings' survival histories and their impact on adult mortality estimates: results from a record linkage study in Senegal.

Estimates of adult mortality in countries with limited vital registration (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa) are often derived from information about the survival of a respondent's siblings.

Misclassification of pregnancy-related deaths in adult mortality surveys: case study in Senegal.

Objective: In countries with limited vital registration data, maternal mortality levels are often estimated using siblings' survival histories (SSH) collected during retrospective adult mortality surveys. We explored how accurately adult deaths can be classified as pregnancy related using such data.

Method: The study was conducted in a rural area of south-eastern Senegal with high maternal mortality, Bandafassi.

No improvement in weight-for-age of young children in southern Senegal, 1969-1992, despite a drastic reduction in mortality. Evidence from a growth monitoring programme.

Background: Undernutrition is associated with an increased risk of death among young children in developing countries. Infant and child nutritional status and mortality were monitored in a rural area of Casamance, Senegal.

Methods: Analysis of weight measurements taken at 3-24 months of age during routine growth monitoring in the community's private dispensary 1969-1992 (3912 children, 4642 child-years) and of mortality rates of children estimated from maternal recall for 1960-1985 and yearly census 1985-1995.