Population Reference Bureau PRB Discuss

Chronic Diseases Affect Youth Globally

In 2008, 36 million people died from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Deaths related to these chronic diseases are increasing, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Over half of deaths are associated with behaviors that begin or are reinforced during adolescence, including tobacco and alcohol use, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise. Global trends indicate that NCD-related behaviors are on the rise among young people, and that they establish patterns of behavior that persist throughout life and are often hard to change. Despite the contribution of adolescent health to reducing NCDs globally, the September 2011 High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York did not address these issues. What is known about adolescent contributions to NCDs? What are effective strategies to address them? Join Dr. Robert Blum, William H. Gates Sr. professor, and chair, Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and director, Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, as he answers your questions about how chronic diseases affect youth and what we can do to prevent them.

For more on chronic diseases and youth, go to www.prb.org. Read an article co-authored by PRB president Wendy Baldwin, and listen to an interview with her.

Robert W. Blum

The Increasing Complexity of Family Life in the United States

Today, Americans are more likely to marry and to divorce than in almost any other Western nation. How has this pattern changed over the last 10 years? What are the implications for current and future generations? Johns Hopkins University professor Andrew Cherlin's review of the research, "Demographic Trends in the United States: A Review of Research in the 2000s," covers trends in marriage and cohabitation, divorce, fertility, children's living arrangements, and aging. The article was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family (vol. 72, no. 3, 2010). Cherlin is also the principal investigator of the "Three-City Study," an interdisciplinary study of low-income children and their caregivers in the post-welfare-reform era, and the pilot study "Intergenerational Support in an Era of Complex Kinship." Join Andrew Cherlin, study author and Griswold Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University, as he answers your questions about family life in the United States over the past decade.

Andrew Cherlin

Mobilizing Youth in the Development Process

At the start of the UN International Year of Youth in August 2010, UN Focal Point on Youth Nicola Shepherd stated: "The International Year is about advancing the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society...we encourage all sectors of society to work in partnership with youth and youth organizations to better understand their needs and concerns and to recognize the contributions that they can make to society." The current efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment; and to address issues related to fertility, reproductive health, and development, provide tremendous opportunities to work with and on behalf of the largest generation ever of young people. Yet, young people's engagement in the development process continues to be informal and sporadic. Ultimately, collaborative partnerships with young people are fundamental to support national and community development and to achieve the MDGs. Join Roli Mahajan, International Year of Youth Journalist for Advocates of Youth, as she answers your questions about how to mobilize and engage youth in the development process. For more on the International Year of Youth, go to www.prb.org. Read articles, listen to an interview, and download a new set of PowerPoint slides on youth.

Roli Mahajan

Jill Gay

Melanie Croce-Galis

What Works for Women and Girls: Evidence for HIV and AIDS Interventions

What Works for Women and Girls: Evidence for HIV and AIDS Interventions synthesizes the vast research literature on program interventions (through the end of 2009) to provide clear evidence of what works and what seems most promising for women and girls that improve a range of HIV outcomes. Intended for policymakers, program managers, civil society, implementing partners, and donors, the website www.whatworksforwomen.org includes searchable findings from over 450 interventions in 90 countries and is also available as a downloadable document. What Works for Women and Girls is currently a project of the Public Health Institute. Join website authors Karen Hardee, Visiting Senior Fellow, PRB; Jill Gay, President, J. Gay Associates; and Melanie Croce-Galis, President, Global Artemis Consulting as they answer your questions about interventions related to HIV and AIDS programming and the evidence base needed for those designing policies and programs for women and girls.

Asta-Maria Kenney

Integrating Family Planning and Maternal/Child Health Services in Russia

Around the globe, family planning has been integrated with maternal and child health services for some years, even decades. In countries where integration is a key element of the health system, birth rates have fallen as more women have been able to avoid unintended pregnancies. As a result, population growth has slowed and certain countries have been able to accelerate economic progress and lift more people out of poverty. However, for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, unmet need for family planning is still high. But a number of challenges face the integration of services, including resistance to change from government leaders and society in general. In the case of Russia, John Snow, Inc. overcame such obstacles to implement a comprehensive family planning and maternal child health project, now managed by an autonomous nongovernmental organization, the Institute for Family Health. Join Natalia Vartapetova, chief of party, Institutionalizing Best Practices in Maternal and Child Health Project in the Russian Federation, JSI; and Asta-Maria Kenney, senior advisor, JSI, as they answer your questions about how JSI overcame resistance to family planning in Russia.

Natalia Vartapetova

Robert Hummer

The Increasing Importance of Education for Longevity in the United States

Many people know that individuals with higher levels of education tend to live longer and healthier lives than individuals with low levels of education. In a recent study, Robert Hummer and colleagues built on this knowledge by demonstrating new important characteristics of the relationship between education and adult mortality in the United States. Among their findings: Each year of education does not have the same "meaning" in terms of reduced mortality risk of U.S. adults; and the data on mortality of more highly educated individuals shows less dispersion than the data on mortality of less educated individuals. The researchers also refined key pathways by which educational attainment influences adult mortality risk, including much higher levels of cigarette smoking among the less educated; and better jobs, higher income, and greater access to health insurance and social ties and resources among the more highly educated. Hummer and his colleagues also determined that over the past two decades, there has been increasing inequality in mortality risk by education in the United States. Join Robert Hummer, Centennial Commission professor of liberal arts at the University of Texas, Austin, as he answers your questions about the relationship between education and longevity in the United States.

Remittances, and the Recession's Effects on International Migration

About 3 percent of the world's people are international migrants, living outside their country of birth for a year or more. Two-thirds of these migrants leave developing countries for developed or other developing countries, and the remittances they send home—around $325 billion in 2010—are larger than total official development aid. The 2008-2009 recession slowed migrant entries into developed countries but did not lead to large-scale returns. International migration is increasing, making the management of migration an ever greater concern. Martin's latest PRB web article, "Remittances, and the Recession's Effects on International Migration," is an update of his 2008 Population Bulletin, "Managing Migration: The Global Challenge." Join Philip Martin, professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis, as he answers your questions about remittances; and the recession's effects on international migration.