The quality of demographic data on older Africans
The quality of demographic data on older Africans
复制标题
非洲老年人人口数据的质量
DOI：
10.4054/demres.2016.34.5
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
E. Coast
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Randall;E. Coast
背景为非洲老年人制定适当和公平的政策需要准确和可靠的数据。目前尚不清楚现有数据能否准确评估较老的非洲人口结构，更不用说提供为决策提供信息所需的详细信息了。目的通过检验从不同来源收集的年龄数据的准确性，评估具有国家代表性的老年非洲人数据的质量。方法为了全面衡量年龄报告的准确性，我们计算惠普尔指数和老年人的修正惠普尔指数，使用来自(A)17个人口和健康调查(DHS)的家庭名册(B)其中12个国家的人口普查和(C)埃塞俄比亚和尼日尔的生活水平衡量研究(LSM)的一年年龄-性别分布。我们根据年龄对报告的性别比例进行比较。结果南部非洲以外的大多数国家的年龄数据质量很差，尤其是老年人。在一些萨赫勒国家，国土安全部的调查似乎忽略了相当大比例的老年妇女。国土安全部和人口普查提供的按年龄和性别分列的老年人人口结构数据不一致，相互矛盾。结论不同的现场方法产生了关于老年非洲人的相互矛盾的数据。除南部非洲外，不可能准确评估老年人口的基本人口结构。现有的数据是如此的有问题，以至于关于与年龄相关的健康和福利及其随时间和空间的演变的任何结论都可能受到损害。这对需要、资助和依赖大规模人口数据来源的政策制定者和从业者产生了影响。
BACKGROUND Developing appropriate and equitable policies for older people in Africa requires accurate and reliable data. It is unclear whether existing data can accurately assess older African population structures, let alone provide the detailed information needed to inform policy decision making. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of nationally representative data on older Africans through examining the accuracy of age data collected from different sources. METHODS To measure the accuracy of age reporting overall we calculate Whipple’s Index, and a modified Whipple’s Index for older adults, using the single year age-sex distributions from (a) the household roster of 17 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) (b) the censuses of 12 of these countries and (c) the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) for Ethiopia and Niger. We compare reported sex ratios by age. RESULTS The quality of age data is very poor for most countries outside Southern Africa, especially for older adults. In some Sahelian countries DHS surveys appear to omit a considerable proportion of older women. Data on population structure of older people by age and sex produced by the DHS and the census are inconsistent and contradictory. CONCLUSIONS Different field methodological approaches generate contradictory data on older Africans. With the exception of Southern Africa, it is impossible to assess accurately the basic demographic structure of the older population. The data available are so problematic that any conclusions about age-related health and welfare and their evolution over time and space are potentially compromised. This has ramifications for policy makers and practitioners who demand, fund and depend on large scale demographic data sources.