Global Perspectives on Health (HSCI 160 Assignment) (Coursework Sample)

Global Perspectives on Health (HSCI 160)
Take-Home Assignment (Individual; 25% of your final mark)
Due before October 20, 2017, 8:00pm PT
Submit electronically on Canvas Assignments
(assignments submitted later than the due date shown above will be penalized)
Please make sure that the electronic file name AND the document contain your name
(for example “Last Name – First Name –HSCI160 Fall 2017”).
Before you start working on this Assignment please make sure that you sign up for one of the country groups on Canvas (see the announcement). The country you select will be the focus of your work both for this individual assignment and the group project. Please follow the instructions closely and submit your individual work without consulting the other members of the country group.
Note: Please do not remove any text from this document, add data (in requested format) and your answers below each question.
Steps of the Take-Home Assignment
Step 1: Sign up for a country to work on. This Homework is an individual assignment, in order to choose a country for this assignment and secure your space for the group project, you should sign up for a country group on Canvas.
Note: The country groups will be ready for joining during the week of Sep 25-29. Please go to Canvas and pick a country soon . If you do not add your name to one of the country groups before the weekend, I will randomly assign your names to the groups that still have seats available. Please read the assignment description before next class. The assignment tips will be offered in class on Monday, October 2nd. If you have questions, please contact the Instructor or the TA via email.
Step 2: Complete the Tasks below; obtain and present information in requested format and answer the questions.
You should be able to:
a) Obtain data on your selected country, using credible sources of statistical information on the web (web links are listed in your course outline and also in the Appendix 2 of this document)
b) Present data in requested format (table, graph, pyramid, etc.)
c) Answer the questions.
All data sources used for this assignment must be specified providing the URLs and the date of access. In case you will be using print or library resources (journals, books, etc.), appropriate citations must be referenced.
The Republic of Kenya
Task One: General Information: (1 point)
Q1: In which geographic region (both according to the World Bank and WHO) is your country located? (Full sentence answer is required).
Kenya is located in the East African region.
Q2: Which income group does your country belong to (based on the World Bank classification)? (Full sentence answer is required).
According to the World, Bank Kenya is in the lower middle class.
Task Two: Data presentation
I. Table: General Health and Population Indicators (Please obtain the latest year available) (3 points)[See Appendix 1 for a sample table]
Create a table with the following six columns:
* Name of the indicator or statistic
* Latest year reported
* Value of the indicator for your country
* Average regional value (world average if the regional is not available)
* Source of the estimate of this indicator. Include name of the original source (e.g. World Bank, WHO, UNDP, etc.)
* Reference: a) Electronic reference: URL and date accessed; or b) Standard reference: Name of publication and year
Indicator

Latest year reported

Value of the indicator

Average region/world value

Source of the indicator

Reference

GDP per capita (PPP $US)

2015

$141.9 billion

World Value

2017 Index of economic freedom

/index/country/kenya
Accessed October 1, 2017

Human Development Index

2015

0.555

World Value

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/HDI
Accessed October 1, 2017

Life Expectancy at Birth

2015

61/66

World Value

WHO

/countries/ken/en/
Accessed October 1, 2017

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

2015

36 per 1000 live births

World Value

Unicef

https://data.unicef.org/country/ken/
Accessed October 1, 2017

Under 5 Mortality Rate (<5MR)

2015

49
per 1000 live births

World Value

Unicef

https://data.unicef.org/country/ken/
Accessed October 1, 2017

Maternal Mortality Ratio

2015

510 per 100,000 live births

World Value

The World Bank

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT
Accessed October 1, 2017

Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)

2015

4.26 births per woman

World Value

The World Bank

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
Accessed October 1, 2017

Adult literacy rate

2015

78%

World Value

Central Intelligence Agency

/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html
Accessed October 1, 2017

% of urban population

2017

26.5%

World Value

Central Intelligence Agency

/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2212.html
Accessed October 1, 2017

You should obtain data for the following indicators and input it into the table:
* GDP per capita (PPP $US)
* Human Development Index
* Life Expectancy at Birth
* Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
* Under 5 Mortality Rate (<5MR)
* Maternal Mortality Ratio (modeled) - if not available, obtain the national estimate
* Total Fertility Rate (births per woman)
* Adult literacy rate
* % of urban population
Q: Describe how are the values of those indicators different from the average regional values? Is your country doing better or worse compared to the regional indicators? (250 words max) (2 points)
The GDP per capita (PPP $US) and the Human Development Index of Kenya are the highest as compared of those of other countries in the region. Markedly, for all the countries in the region it is only Kenya which is ranked as medium human development as the rest of the countries are listed at low human development per the data from the United Nations Development Programme. The development shows that Kenya is performing better as it is leading in development. In life expectancy at birth Kenya has 62.2%, Tanzania 65.5% Rwanda 64.7%, Uganda 59.2%, Ethiopia 64.6%, and Burundi 57.1%. Therefore, Kenya ranks fourth in the life expectancy which worse as compared to others. The maternal mortality ratio shows that Burundi has 712, Ethiopia 353, Kenya 510, Rwanda 290, Tanzania 398, and Uganda 343. Thus, Kenya has increased mortality of mother during birth and this a bad performance in comparison with the other countries in the region. The fertility rate for the region are Burundi with 5.8, Ethiopia 4.3, Kenya 3.9, Rwanda 4.0, Tanzania 5.1 and Uganda 5.7. The country has lowest fertility rate which is an indication that people are using family planning for sustainable growth and this a good performance in the country. The adult literacy is 85.6% in Burundi, 49.1% in Ethiopia, 78% in Kenya, 70.5% in Rwanda, 77.9% in Tanzania and 78.4% in Uganda. The literacy level third in the region is a better performance, but necessary improvement are required.
II. Trends
Create a table or a graph (insert it below) demonstrating the time trends of the following indicators for your country. (Please start with the earliest and end with the most recent dates available). (3 points)
a) Life expectancy at birth
b) Infant Mortality Rate,
c) Under 5 Mortality Rate,
d) Total Fertility Rate
e) Per capita Income (GDP or GNI per capita)
Feel free to use any graph/table generating tools available on WHO, WB, UNDP, UNICEF websites. Recommended online database for this is the WB’s Data and Statistics, for example the Health, Nutrition and Population Statistics database that you can find here:
http://databank.worldbank.org/Data/Views/VariableSelection/SelectVariables.aspx?source=Health%20Nutrition%20and%20Population%20Statistics
* Insert your table or graph here, label properly.
Indicator

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Life expectancy at birth

64.9

65.6

66.2

66.6

_

Infant Mortality Rate

39.2

38

36.6

35.5

_

Under 5 Mortality Rate

55.6

53.4

51.3

49.4

_

Total Fertility Rate

4.2

4.1

4.0

3.9

_

Per capita Income (GDP or GNI per capita)

1060.0

1150.0

1260.0

1310.0

1380.0

Table 2: The trend of five indicators in Kenya from 2012 to 2016.
Q: Briefly describe the time trends of each indicator above. Are there any patterns of change? Do you see any correlation between those indicators and the changes that took place over time? (Maximum 350 words) (2 points)
The life expectancy at birth increased steadily from 2012 to 2015. There was a decline in the infant mortality rate from 39.2 in 2012 to 35.5 in 2015. Also, the under-five mortality rate decreases gradually from 55.6 in 2012 to49.4 in 2015. In addition, the total mortality rate reduced imperceptibly from 4.2 in 2012 to 3.9 I 2015. The Per capita income, on the other hand, increased exponentially from 1060 in 2012 to 1380 in 2016. There is a correlation in the changes of indicators with the overall change that occurred over time. The reduction in the infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate collectively lead to the increase in the life expectancy at birth. Noticeably, with reduction of death and decrease in the total fertility rate the p...