The burden of disease and economic growth: The nonlinear effect of population age structure.

This study aims to detangle the impact of health on economic growth as empirical evidence shows a mixture of findings. We use data on the Burden of Disease (BoD) from the Institute of Health Metric Evaluation (IHME) to measure health capital and the economic data of 87 countries from 1990 to 2018. Using panel threshold regression, this study shows that the old dependency ratio is a good measure of the threshold variable, which divides the country groups into four. The BoD, whether it comes from communicable diseases (CD), non-communicable diseases (NCD), or injuries, has a negative impact on economic growth. However, the negative relation is somewhat diminished as the population gets older, demonstrating that the BoD's impact on economic growth is less pronounced for the older population than the younger population.

Food consumption diversity and nutritional status among children aged 6-23 months in Indonesia: The analysis of the results of the 2018 Basic Health Research.

BACKGROUND: Stunting among children under five years of age is among the highest in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between food consumption diversity and nutritional status among children aged 6-23 months in Indonesia. METHODS: The data used came from the results of the 2018 Basic Health Research. The main independent variable was the diversity of food consumption. Control variables included breastfeeding practices and demographic and socioeconomic factors. Using ordinal logistic regression, the role of food consumption diversity in influencing nutritional status was examined after controlling for breastfeeding practices and demographic and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that the diversity of food consumption (AOR = 1.15; 95%CI: 1.07-1.24) significantly and statistically influenced nutritional status of children age 6-23 months in Indonesia even after controlling for the effects of breastfeeding practices and demographic and socioeconomic factors. Higher odds of having normal nutritional status compared to being stunted or severely stunted was associated with consuming food according to the dietary diversity. Higher odds of having normal nutritional status compared to being stunted or severely stunted was also significantly and statistically associated with being ever breastfed (AOR = 1.33; 95%CI: 1.22-1.46), aged 6-11 months (AOR = 3.07; 95%CI: 2.79-3.38), female (AOR = 1.35; 95%CI: 1.25-1.46), children of non-working mothers (AOR = 1.12; 95%CI: 1.04-1.21), children of higher educated mothers (AOR = 1.50; 95%CI: 1.30-1.72), children from higher wealth quintile households (AOR = 1.65; 95%CI: 1.44-1.85), children from smaller size family (AOR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.05-1.10), and urban children (AOR = 1.16; 95%CI:1.08-1.25). CONCLUSION: A profound percentage of children aged 6-23 months in Indonesia experienced stunting and severely stunting. Children who did not receive minimum dietary diversity were more likely to suffer from stunting. The findings from this study suggest that to ensure the achievement of national goal of preventing stunting and sustainable development goal of ending all forms of malnutrition in Indonesia, the strategy should promote the fulfillment of minimum food consumption diversity.

Role of Information and Communication Technology and Women's Empowerment in Contraceptive Discontinuation in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the role of information and communication technology and women's empowerment in contraceptive discontinuation in Indonesia. METHODS: The study used data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey and monthly contraceptive calendar data. A Gompertz proportional hazards model was used for analysis. RESULTS: The 12-month contraceptive discontinuation rate was higher among women who had used the Internet in the past year, women who were mobile phone owners, and women who reported having fully participated in household decision-making than among their counterparts. These factors significantly impacted the risk of contraceptive discontinuation in Indonesia, even after controlling for contraceptive method, age, parity, contraceptive intent, education, work status, place of residence, and wealth status. CONCLUSIONS: After adjustment for the control variables, a higher risk of contraceptive discontinuation was associated with having used the Internet in the past year, owning a mobile phone, and not participating in household decision-making. Higher contraceptive discontinuation risk was also associated with using contraceptive pills, older age, lower parity, intent of spacing births, more education, current unemployment, and rural residence, and the risk was also significantly higher for those in the lowest household wealth quintile than for those in the fourth household wealth quintile. The association of contraceptive discontinuation with the use of modern information and communication technology and relatively disempowerment in household decision-making may imply that information regarding family planning and contraception should be conveyed via social media as part of setting up an eHealth system. This must include a strong communication strategy to empower and educate women in contraceptive decision-making.