COMPUB LECTURE

• Demography is the statistical study of human populations
• Demography examines the size, structure, and movements of populations over space and time
• Demography is useful for governments and private businesses to analyze and predict social, cultural, and economic trends related to population
• Etymology of Demography:

  • Demo: people
  • Graphy: description
  • Coined by John Graunt in 1662
• John Graunt is regarded as the founder of demography
• Demography is the statistical study of human population with regard to their size & structure, composition by sex, age, marital status, and ethnic origin, and changes in birth rates, death rates, and immigration
• Demography is the branch of social science which deals with the study of size, structure, and distribution of populations, along with the spatial and temporal changes in response to birth, migration, ageing, and death
• Definitions of Demography:

  • Study of human populations in relation to changes brought about by births, deaths, and migration
  • Scientific study of human population including changes in population size, composition, and distribution
  • Statistical and mathematical study of the size, composition, and spatial distribution of human populations, and changes over time through fertility, mortality, marriage, migration, and social mobility
• Demography is a branch of science that studies the human population
• Elements of population given special attention in demography:

  • Change in the size of population (increase or decrease)
  • Structure of population based on sex or age groups
  • Geographical distribution of population based on state or territory
• Commonly used concepts in demography:

  • Stillbirth
  • Fetal death
  • Family size
  • Child death
  • Live birth
  • Parity
  • Adulthood
  • Contraception
  • Sterility
  • Birth order
  • Marriage
  • Reproductive span
  • Separation and divorce
  • Fertility
  • Fecundity
  • Cohort
  • Ratio
  • Migration
  • Proportion
  • Rates
  • Percent
  • Natural increase and rate of natural increase
• Scope of demography:

  • Important for community health nurses to know demographic aspects of their community
  • Information regarding population statistics helps in planning and managing need-based health care services for the community
  • Includes total population, age and sex composition, median age, dependency ratio, and socioeconomic characteristics
• Information regarding total population helps determine the workload for health workers

  • Age and sex composition helps analyze health needs, morbidity, and mortality patterns
  • Median age and dependency ratio help understand the ratio of young and elderly population and economic burden
  • Socioeconomic characteristics include education, marital status, occupation, income, etc., helping identify socioeconomic status, morbidity, mortality patterns, and fertility behavior
• Life expectancy information helps understand the impact of health care services on morbidity and mortality

  • Distribution and concentration of population help identify areas needing services the most
  • Information on population dynamics helps understand changes influenced by fertility, mortality, and migration patterns in the community
  • Crude mortality rate, birth rate help determine natural increase in population and growth rate
  • Specific mortality rates include age, sex, cause-specific rates, case fatality, and proportional mortality rate
• Demographic Cycle:

  • Stage: High Stationary
  • Stage: Early Expanding
  • Stage: Late Expanding
  • Stage: Low Stationary
  • Stage: Declining
• High Stationary (First Stage):

  • Characterized by high birth rate and high death rate, population remains stationary
  • Example: India until 1920
• Early Expanding (Second Stage):

  • Death rate begins to decline while birth rate remains unchanged, initial increase in population
  • Regions like South Asia & Africa are in this stage
• Late Expanding (Third Stage):

  • Death rate decreases further and birth rates tend to fall, continued increase in population
  • Examples: China, Singapore, India
• Low Stationary (Fourth Stage):

  • Characterized by low birth rate and low death rate, stability in population
  • Example: Australia in 1980-85
• Declining (Fifth Stage):

  • Birth rate lower than death rate, resulting in a fall in population
  • European countries like Germany and Hungary are facing this stage
• Method of data collection:

  • Data collection is crucial for research studies to avoid invalid results
  • Primary Data: collected directly from individuals through face-to-face surveys
  • Examples include data collected during census, health-related data, and illness-related data
• Primary data collection methods:

  • Interview method
  • Observation
  • Questionnaire
  • Diaries
  • Surveys
• Interview method:

  • Structured interview: predetermined questions for individuals to answer
  • Unstructured interview: encourages free conversation and elaborations
  • Advantages: in-depth information, good feedback, immediate recording, immediate help if needed
  • Disadvantages: requires more time, money, training, well-trained investigators, and predetermined questions
• Observation method:

  • Records behavioral patterns of people in a systematic manner
  • Provides first-hand information but bias may exist
  • Observation visits can provide information about the community's geographical area, environmental sanitation, socioeconomic conditions, family characteristics, health status, and environmental health
• Questionnaire:

  • Efficient for large-scale data collection, saves time and money
  • Can be used for interviews or surveys through various means like post, email, or fax
  • No bias, requires a certain level of education and skill from respondents
• Diaries:

  • Used to record data obtained from individuals
• Diaries are used to record data obtained from individuals
• Data expressed in-depth from people can be recorded and utilized for research purposes
• Surveys gather information from a sample of people to generalize results to a larger population
• Surveys provide critical data and insights for various sectors like businesses, media, government, and academics
• Secondary data is collected from sources outside the primary source
• Examples of secondary data sources include hospital records and census data
• Methods for secondary data collection include census, national survey, registration of vital events, and record review method
• Census records demographic, social, and economic data of a country's population on a specified day
• Census is conducted periodically by the national government
• Census information includes age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, economic status, place of birth, employment status, number of children, and number of deaths
• Registration of vital events provides information on births, deaths, marriages, etc.
• National surveys collect population-related information from various states
• Record review method provides community identification information such as housing conditions, socioeconomic status, demographic information, vital events, and health services
• Data collected needs to be arranged in tables, charts, diagrams, graphs, pictures, and curves for analysis