Working Paper 10. Young Lives: A Case Study of Sample Design for Longitudinal Research
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Linking public issues with private troubles: panel studies in developing countries
Accompanying the call for increased evidence-based policy the developed world is implementing more longitudinal panel studies which periodically gather information about the same people over a number of years. Panel studies distinguish between transitory and persistent states (e.g. poverty, unemployment) and facilitate causal explanations of relationships between variables. However, they are complex and costly. A growing number of developing countries are now implementing or considering starting panel studies. The objectives of this paper are to identify challenges that arise in panel studies, and to give examples of how these have been addressed in resource-constrained environments. The main issues considered are: the development of a conceptual framework which links macro and micro contexts; sampling the cohort in a cost-effective way; tracking individuals; ethics and data management and analysis. Panel studies require long term funding, a stable institution and an acceptance that there will be limited value for money in terms of results from early stages, with greater benefits accumulating in the study's mature years. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Health-care practices of the rural aged.
1. One of the primary concerns of the rural aged is the maintenance of their physical health so that they may function independently and remain in their own homes. 2. The findings of this study indicate that most older rural adults do not regularly have positive health-care practices. This may be due to the unavailability of health-care providers or health promotion programs in isolated rural areas. 3. Implications of this study include the need to make health promotion programs relevant to the concerns of the rural aged rather than those of the urban elderly.