Novel Approaches for Evidence-Based Health Policies for Women of Reproductive Age:– Small Area Estimation of Population Data.

Opeyemi O. Latona, University of Ibadan
Ayokunle Olagoke, University of Illinois, Chicago

With increasing demographic transition and change in population dynamics, there is a need to delineate population data to accommodate the heterogeneity of various socio-demographic groups which takes into consideration the difference in risks process, urbanization, and geopolitical region. According to WHO, 515,000 women die globally due to pregnancy-related causes. Nigeria contributes a burden of 14% and 71% of those deaths occur in rural Nigeria. This suggests a need for decentralization of health policies to focus on women in rural environments. This current study explores the use of existing population data to demonstrate the disparity in reproductive health experiences/outcomes of women in various residential settings in Nigeria. This provides a baseline for measuring the progress of reproductive health interventions. Disaggregated approach to population data will provide baseline information for formulating tailor-made reproductive health policies and ensure the delivering of demographic divided in underserved populations.