Factor Associated with HIV/AIDS knowledge among males: Findings from 2017-18 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (UNAIDS) has risen as the serious public health problem across the world. Knowledge about HIV/AIDS is the cornerstone for prevention and treatment. Research is needed to explore the attitude and the effect of different demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic and media exposure factors on males knowledge about HIV in Pakistan. In this study, latest secondary data are used from Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18. Sample results show that the majority of the respondents (70%) have knowledge about AIDS. Regression Modeling reveals that man's knowledge about HIV/AIDS is associated with age, place of residence, educational level, wealth index, ethnicity and media exposure factors. Males of age group 35-39, with higher education, belonging to Pukthon ethnicity, having exposure to mass media on a daily basis and belonging to richest wealth quintile has high Knowledge of HIV/AIDS. For example, the regression model predicts that men between the ages of 35 and 39 from Islamabad who live in urban areas, have higher education, are of Pukhtoon ethnicity, are the head of the household, belong to the richest quintile, work in professional occupations, and use media exposure factors on a daily basis would have probability of 97% of having knowledge of HIV/AIDS. But there is still need to focus to increase the men's knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

Is recent Afghanistan survey data suitable for fertility analysis? A regional investigation based on fertility inhibiting determinants.

Afghanistan has been a country blighted by war over the past five decades and limited research is available on its demography. This study seeks to assess the suitability of recent survey data for Afghanistan (the 2010 Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS)and the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS)) for estimating levels and trends in fertility. As several fertility measures rely on the quality of age data, we first apply demographic tools for the identification of age misreporting, finding evidence that it is severe. We then explore the consistency of fertility reporting across the two surveys, finding that the 2015 ADHS reports higher fertility among older women than the 2010 AMS although the seasonal pattern of fertility is consistent across the two surveys. We then estimate total fertility rates in 2008-2010 and 2012-2015 and measures of Bongaarts's key proximate determinants of fertility for Afghanistan and its provinces for urban and rural areas separately. The results show that fertility is similar in urban and rural Afghanistan. Although most of the provincial data on the proximate determinants is reasonably consistent with the fertility rates, there are anomalies in some provinces which indicate the possible under-reporting of births. Overall, we conclude that the fertility data in the two surveys can be used with care to give an indication of broad regional fertility patterns and trends in the country.