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Mortality patterns, 1993–98, in a rural area of Burkina Faso, West Africa, based on the Nouna demographic surveillance system
Author(s) -
KynastWolf G.,
Sankoh O. A.,
Gbangou A.,
Kouyaté B.,
Becher H.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3156.2002.00863.x
Subject(s) - poisson regression , demography , mortality rate , population , geography , rural area , medicine , pathology , sociology
The Nouna demographic surveillance system database was analysed for the period 1993–98. Basic demographic parameters, age‐specific and age‐standardized mortality rates were calculated and a seasonal variation in mortality was analysed. Poisson regression was used to model the calculated mortality rates and to investigate the seasonal mortality pattern. Both the population distribution by age and the mortality rates reflect a typical pattern of population structures and total mortality in rural Africa as a whole: high childhood mortality and a young population (about 60% are up to age 25; about 10% above age 64). We identified a significant seasonal pattern with highest mortality rates in February. Demographic surveillance systems in Africa provide a viable method for the collection of reliable data on vital events in rural Africa and should therefore be established and supported.