Economic losses from natural disasters vary by countries, and it has been hypothesized that institutional, political, and other national conditions and policies all play a role in determining the severity of loss. Many empirical studies for understanding the determinants of disaster losses, however, suffer from endogeneity and selection bias, which can potentially make their results method-dependent. To demonstrate, we investigate the relationship between disaster propensity, wealth, and economic loss from a panel data collected by [Neumayer et al., 2014]. We first demonstrate that the original data is subject to endogeneity and selection bias, reconstruct the dataset, and apply Heckman correction. The bias-corrected estimated impact of disaster propensity changes direction from the original result by [Neumayer et al., 2014] — countries that experience more frequent disasters tend to suffer from greater economic damage, holding everything else equal. We suggest that disaster propensity could be an indicator of vulnerability, or a sign of insufficient prevention and mitigation measures. Although we cannot provide any definitive explanation for the phenomenon, our result shows that correcting selection bias matters when dealing with natural disasters data. For future work, a more sophisticated construction of the latent propensity variable and the application of quantile regression for endogenous selection models could broaden our understanding.

General Indicators; 2. Attitude to the EC; 3. Attitude to abortion; 4. Smoking habits; 5. Product safety. Topics: 1. General Indicators: citizenship and eligibility to vote at place of residence; contentment with life; satisfaction with democracy; opinion leadership and frequency of political discussions; postmaterialism; frequency of obtaining news from television, radio and newspapers. 2. Attitude to the EC: knowledge about the EC and its institutions; hopes and fears for the future of the European Community; judgment on personal level of information about the EC; attitude to European unification and membership of one´s own country in the EC; advantages or disadvantages for the country from EC membership; regret of a possible failure of the EC; general assessment of the significance of the EC; attitude to a European Government and European Parliament; judgment on the possibilities for citizens to democratically influence EC decisions; preferred new EC member countries until the year 2000; significance of European unification for national or European identity of the individual; judgment on the EC Commission by means of a semantic differential; preference for national or European decision-making authority in selected political areas; knowledge about the start of the European domestic market; expectations of the European domestic market and reasons for hopes and fears; general attitude to the domestic market and to a European social policy; general significance of the European Parliament in selected political areas; attitude to an increasing significance of the parliament; agreement with an expanded transfer of authority to the EC in an economic and currency union as well as in a political unification; knowledge about the Maastricht conference, its resolutions and their contents; agreement or rejection of the Maastricht Treaty as well as selected components of the treaty; expected effects of the Maastricht Treaty for the EC, for one´s own country and for personal life; exchange of national identity for a European identity; chances of individual EC countries to join the economic and currency union; expected advantages or disadvantages for one´s own country from the economic and currency union; preference for European or national precedents in conflicts of laws; sense of justice and attitude to selected aspects of the legal system (scale); attitude to the European Court of Justice and the highest national court of law; judgment on the work of the highest European Court of Justice. 3. Attitude to abortion: attitude to the right to abortion and a European regulation regarding abortion. 4. Smoking habits: number of cigarettes smoked daily; desire to quit smoking or reduce use of cigarettes (split: in the second case the question was not about desire but intent); frequency of not smoking in order not to bother others present; reasonableness for a smoker to travel in the no-smoking compartment or vice versa for a non-smoker to travel in the smoking compartment; time of quitting smoking (for former smokers); presence of smokers at home, in one´s circle of friends, at work and at other places; frequency of requests to smokers not to smoke; perceived bother from smokers; frequency of personal passive smoking; assessment of jeopardy to health from passive smoking; attitude to a smoking ban in public institutions; extent of such a smoking prohibition in one´s own vicinity; perceived observance of the smoking ban; preference for smoking zones or no-smoking zones at work; preference for an independent solution among work colleagues or for a management decision; smoking regulations at one´s place of work and perceived observance of these rules; attitude to a prohibition of cigarette advertising; knowledge about prohibitions of advertising for cigarettes in one´s country; evaluation of the effectiveness of these prohibitions; knowledge about the European program to combat cancer. 5. Product safety: most important criteria in purchase of products; interest in the safety of products and services; significance of thesecurity aspect of products in the media, in school and in leisure time; assessment of the salience of consumer protection (scale); consumer areas in which one should place particular value on safety; consumer areas to which one attributes the greatest potential for jeopardy; those primarily responsible for product safety and the safety of services in selected product areas; expected comparability of security standard of products in Europe and desire for generally understandable safety codes; the same security standards in Europe; desire for cross-border signs and symbols for dangers at the beach, in the mountains and with fire; adequate extent to which citizens are informed about dangers to the environment; assessment of the usefulness of selected types of insurance; greatest sources of danger for older people and children in different age-groups; last accident at home in one´s family; person who had an accident; product or object which lead to the accident; one responsible for the accident. Demography: self-classification on a left-right continuum; party allegiance; party preference (Sunday question); behavior at the polls in the last election; union membership; marital status; age at end of education; resumption of school training after an interruption and length of school training; length of further education; sex; age; size of household; number of children in household; possession of durable economic goods; occupational position; weekly number of working hours; supervisor status; employment in the civil service or private enterprise (company sector); person managing household; position in household; age of head of household at end of education; occupation of head of household; supervisor status of head of household; self-assessment of social class; residential status; degree of urbanization; religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; religiousness; monthly household income; city size; region; possession of a telephone. Indices: opinion leadership (cognitive mobility); postmaterialism; attitude to Europe; status in profession; party preference on European level; EC support; support for the EC domestic market; media usage; ESOMAR Social Grade; life cycle. In the Federal Republic the following questions were also posed: use of selected sources of information about the EC; perceived EC topics; preferred sources of information about the European Community; assessment of the EC role in achieving equivalent standard of living between Eastern and Western Germany. In Great Britain and Northern Ireland the following question was also posed: knowledge and significance of the British EC presidency. In France, West Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy the following questions were also posed: self-classification of knowledge about selected EC countries; naming the most pleasant, most conscientious, most efficient and most trustworthy EC countries; assessment of the achievability of conditions for joining the economic and currency union by one´s own country. Only in Italy the following questions were posed: assumed interest of new applicant countries in EC membership; attitude to a subordinate role of one´s own country in an economic and currency union; most important obstacles to participation in the economic and currency union; perceived readiness of the population for economic and social sacrifices for the benefit of an economic and currency union; judgment on selected economic and social disadvantages for Italy from the economic and currency union; willingness to sacrifice income for the benefit of European unification. In Denmark the following questions were also posed: knowledge about the monthly magazine ´ES-AVISSEN´ and its content; origin of the issues read; evaluation of information content in selected areas; preference for more frequent publication of this magazine. The following questions were posed only in Norway: highest school degree; further education and college attendance. Also encoded was: date of interview; length of interview; willingness of respondent to cooperate; number of contact attempts; ZIP (postal)code; identification of interviewer.

BackgroundIncreasing the level of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) is one of the key interventions to promote optimal utilization of skilled maternal health services. It is therefore essential to determine the women’s ability to recognize the danger signs and the level of BP/CR. This information can be used to design more effective health interventions.ObjectivesThis study was conducted to determine the knowledge in recognition of maternal complications, and the level and factors associated with BP/CR in rural Matlab, Bangladesh.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from June- October 2015 on a randomly selected 2262 women who delivered live or stillbirth during the year 2014. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used.ResultsThe proportion of study participants with “good knowledge”, measured by the ability to recognise three or more danger signs, in pregnancy and delivery were 26% and 23%, respectively. Out of four BP/CR components, about 15% women saved money, 12% women identified facility for delivery, 9.6% women planned to deliver by skilled birth attendant and 5.3% of women arranged transport. About 12% of women were “well prepared”, measured by planning of at least two components, for skilled childbirth and emergency obstetric complications. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, asset index, antenatal care (ANC) visits and knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy and delivery were associated with BP/CR. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of “well prepared” was 4.09 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.45–6.82) among women with an asset index of five (richest), compared with women in the asset index of one (poorest). The odds of “well prepared” was six times (OR 5.98, 95% CI: 3.85–9.28) higher for women with four or more ANC visits, compared to women with none or one ANC visit. In comparison to women with “poor knowledge” on maternal danger signs during pregnancy and delivery, the odds ratio of “well prepared” among women with good knowledge during pregnancy and in delivery were 1.95 (95% CI: 1.44–2.63) and 1.74 (95% CI: 1.28–2.36), respectively.ConclusionThe study revealed a low level of maternal knowledge of danger signs and BP/CR among pregnant women. Further, low socioeconomic status, fewer ANC visits and poor knowledge in recognition of dangers signs on maternal health were associated with low BP/CR. More emphasis should be placed on the quality of information offered to the pregnant women during the prenatal contact and women from low socio-economic gradient should be prioritized to optimize the impact of future BP/CR interventions.

Counseling on danger signs of pregnancy among women who received antenatal care service in Ethiopia.

The most likely SaTScan clusters of areas with a high prevalence of missing ENC among postpartum women in Ethiopia, EDHS 2016.

Community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2019 among women who delivered in the past 24 months in two wards at Babati Rural district, Tanzania. Standard Questionnaire was used for data collection.A Swahili questionnaire was used to collect information from the participants. The questionnaire had closed and open-ended questions and consists of six sub-sections. The first part collected information on socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, second was reproductive and maternal health history, and third part collected information on ANC use, place of delivery and use of skilled birth attendant during the last pregnancy. The fourth section collected information on knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy, labor and childbirths and after delivery, and fifth on having birth preparedness and complication readiness plan for the last pregnancy. Post-Natal Care practice after delivery was the last section.The interviews were conducted at either participant’s home, or at health facility room depending on the preference of the participant. After finishing data collection verbal observation from the field was shared with the DMO, which will be followed by a full research report of the study after completion.

Summary of OLS results for not receiving ENC in Ethiopia, EDHS 2016.

Results of a multivariable mixed-effect negative binomial regression to identify the determinants of uptake of ENC items in Ethiopia, EDHS2016.

List of possible predictors of missing essential newborn care items during the immediate postpartum period in Ethiopia as extracted from the EDHS 2016 report.

IntroductionBirth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) is a strategy to promote timely use of skilled maternal and neonatal care during childbirth. According to World Health Organization, BPCR should be a key component of focused antenatal care. Dakshina Kannada, a coastal district of Karnataka state, is categorized as a high-performing district (institutional delivery rate >25%) under the National Rural Health Mission. However, a substantial proportion of women in the district experience complications during pregnancy (58.3%), childbirth (45.7%), and postnatal (17.4%) period. There is a paucity of data on BPCR practice and the factors associated with it in the district. Exploring this would be of great use in the evidence-based fine-tuning of ongoing maternal and child health interventions.ObjectiveTo assess BPCR practice and the factors associated with it among the beneficiaries of two rural Primary Health Centers (PHCs) of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 217 pregnant (>28 weeks of gestation) and recently delivered (in the last 6 months) women in two randomly selected PHCs from June -September 2013. Exit interviews were conducted using a pre-designed semi-structured interview schedule. Information regarding socio-demographic profile, obstetric variables, and knowledge of key danger signs was collected. BPCR included information on five key components: identified the place of delivery, saved money to pay for expenses, mode of transport identified, identified a birth companion, and arranged a blood donor if the need arises. In this study, a woman who recalled at least two key danger signs in each of the three phases, i.e., pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum (total six) was considered as knowledgeable on key danger signs. Optimal BPCR practice was defined as following at least three out of five key components of BPCR.Outcome measuresProportion, Odds ratio, and adjusted Odds ratio (adj OR) for optimal BPCR practice.ResultsA total of 184 women completed the exit interview (mean age: 26.9±3.9 years). Optimal BPCR practice was observed in 79.3% (95% CI: 73.5–85.2%) of the women. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age >26 years (adj OR = 2.97; 95%CI: 1.15–7.7), economic status of above poverty line (adj OR = 4.3; 95%CI: 1.12–16.5), awareness of minimum two key danger signs in each of the three phases, i.e., pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum (adj OR = 3.98; 95%CI: 1.4–11.1), preference to private health sector for antenatal care/delivery (adj OR = 2.9; 95%CI: 1.1–8.01), and woman’s discussion about the BPCR with her family members (adj OR = 3.4; 95%CI: 1.1–10.4) as the significant factors associated with optimal BPCR practice.ConclusionIn this study population, BPCR practice was better than other studies reported from India. Healthcare workers at the grassroots should be encouraged to involve women’s family members while explaining BPCR and key danger signs with a special emphasis on young (