Demographic Situation Research Articles

Examining the Most Important Factors Affecting the Egyptian Family’s Choice of the Ideal Number of Children in the Light of the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey

Examining the Most Important Factors Affecting the Egyptian Family’s Choice of the Ideal Number of Children in the Light of the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey

A holistic model of health inequalities for health policy and state administration: a case study in the regions of the Czech Republic

BackgroundHealth inequities exist within and between societies at different hierarchical levels. Despite overall improvements in health status in European Union countries, disparities persist among socially, economically, and societally disadvantaged individuals. This study aims to develop a holistic model of health determinants, examining the complex relationship between various determinants of health inequalities and their association with health condition.MethodsHealth inequalities and conditions were assessed at the territorial level of Local Administrative Units (LAU1) in the Czech Republic. A dataset of 57 indicators was created, categorized into seven determinants of health and one health condition category. The necessary data were obtained from publicly available databases. Comparisons were made between 2001–2003 and 2016–2019. Various methods were employed, including composite indicator creation, correlation analysis, the Wilcoxon test, aggregate index calculation, cluster analysis, and data visualization using the LISA method.ResultsThe correlation matrix revealed strong relationships between health inequality categories in both periods. The most significant associations were observed between Economic status and social protection and Education in the first period. However, dependencies weakened in the later period, approaching values of approximately 0.50. The Wilcoxon test confirmed variations in determinant values over time, except for three specific determinants. Data visualization identified persistently adverse or worsening health inequalities in specific LAU1, focusing on categories such as Economic status and social protection, Education, Demographic situation, Environmental status, Individual living status, and Road safety and crime. The health condition indices showed no significant change over time, while the aggregate index of health inequalities improved with widened differences.ConclusionSpatial inequalities in health persist in the Czech Republic, influenced by economic, social, demographic, and environmental factors, as well as local healthcare accessibility. Both inner and outer peripheries exhibit poor health outcomes, challenging the assumption that urban areas fare better. The combination of poverty and vulnerabilities exacerbates these inequalities. Despite the low rates of social exclusion and poverty, regional health inequalities persist in the long term. Effectively addressing health inequalities requires interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based policy interventions. Efforts should focus on creating supportive social and physical environments, strengthening the healthcare system, and fostering cooperation with non-medical disciplines.

Demographic and migration processes in the Far East of Russia (on the example of Primorsky Krai)

This article highlights the features of demographic and migration processes characteristic of the Far Eastern Federal District (hereinafter referred to as FEFD) in general and Primorsky Krai in particular. Based on materials of official statistics, the resident population dynamics of all Russia’s subjects that are part of the FEFD is considered. In this region, the development specifics’ of modern period migration processes are revealed; differentiated indicators of migration increase/decrease in the population are analyzed. A number of implemented state initiatives are outlined, to some extent contributing to the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the FEFD, as well as the normalization of its demographic situation. However, it is noted that despite the adoption of special measures/conditions, it is not possible to overcome the negative demographic trend of the macroregion. The paper emphasizes that in the Far East external labor migration has become a valuable source of compensation for the shortage of local labor resources. Thus, according to the author, the foreign labor force of this macroregion should be considered as the most important element of its socio-economic development, putting forward the problems of international labor migration among the most priority issues.

МЕХАНІЗМИ РОЗВИТКУ ЖИТЛОВОГО БУДІВНИЦТВА

The article describes the essence, content and functions of the mechanisms for the revival of housing construction in Ukraine. Its development and implementation envisages the revival of the country, the multifaceted socio-economic development of settlements, the improvement of the demographic situation, and the appeal to man as the main source of the nation's wealth. It has been proven that all European countries have gone through a long process of reforming and developing the construction industry, applying new investment technologies and stimulating the development of this direction of the economy, combining state support, the mortgage lending mechanism and other types of construction support. In the economy of our country, many variants of management mechanisms are used - economic, ecological, market, social, organizational, organizational-economic and others. After the full-scale invasion, almost all developers stopped construction, some for several weeks, some did not continue construction at all. It was determined that in 2022 the total area of ready-made apartments amounted to 7.1 million square meters. m (18.3 thousand private houses and 74.3 thousand apartments), which is 38% less than in 2021. It has been proven that in Ukraine it is not enough to stimulate the development of the construction industry at the state level, it is important to create conditions for the development of a competitive environment, to introduce effective financial and credit mechanisms for the purchase of construction materials. The construction industry should be based on trust in the banking sector of the economy and stimulate the development of affordable rental housing for the low-income population and internally displaced persons. We believe that the housing market in Ukraine is currently in a recovery phase. The prospect of its development requires the creation of an effective organizational and economic mechanism, as well as the implementation of state support for the provision of social housing for the population of the region and those forced to leave their place of residence. Development of mechanisms and means of housing construction, economic stabilization and revival of the country require further development and scientific research

Osobennosti demograficheskogo razvitiya korennyh malochislennyh narodov Severa HMAO v period 2002–2022 gg.

The article analyzes the demographic indicators of the indigenous peoples of the North of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra for the period 2002-2022. The demographic processes of the municipalities of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra, gender and age characteristics, medical and demographic indicators are analyzed, trends in the development of the demographic situation of both the region as a whole and the indigenous peoples of the North are identified. The issues of state regulation in the field of socio-economic development of the indigenous peoples of the North are studied, conclusions are drawn regarding the prospects for the dynamics of the demographic processes of the indigenous peoples, as well as the prospects for sustainable positive socio-economic development of the indigenous peoples of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra.

The dynamics of demographic situation and state of reproductive health of population of circumpolar region of the Russian Federation

The retrospective ecological epidemiological study was carried out using reports of the Federal statistical observation. To evaluate demographic processes the values of main demographic parameters were calculated. To analyze dynamics of demographic processes time series of demographic coefficients were constructed and values of growth rate indicators were calculated. The number of male and female population of the Komi Republic in 1990-2023 decreased by 46.5% and 37.1%. The specific weight of people older than able-bodied age increased in males from 4.9% to 14.7% and in females from 15.7% to 31.6%. The number of females of fertile age (16-49 years) in the Komi Republic decreased by 152.602 people (-47.5%) and their general fertility rate decreased by 33.3%. The birth rate in the group of young women aged 15-19 years decreased in 1990-2021 by 80.1%; and of women aged 20-24 years decreased by 60.4%. The frequency of abortions tends to decrease, but significantly exceeds the national average values. The replacement-level fertility is not achieved in the Komi Republic. Taking into account the peculiarities of demographic, social economic processes, it is necessary to develop and to implement regional program of reproductive health improvement.

Challenges and opportunities for the development of the graphic and digital media studies in Lithuania

The graphic and digital media industry plays an important role in Lithuania and abroad, yet it inevitably faces a lack of specialists in this field. The shortage of professionals in the sector leads to the slower growth of businesses and industry, the lower value of GDP, and, in many cases, unskilled work, poor quality and inadequate presentation of information through different media. These challenges can be attributed to shortcomings of the Lithuanian higher education system. According to the Lithuanian Qualifications Framework, levels 5 (short cycle), 6 (bachelor’s), 7 (master’s), and 8 (doctoral) are classified as tertiary studies. In Lithuania, short-cycle studies in the media industry sector are still not available as the main focus is on the training of bachelor’s and master’s degree specialists. The article analyses and presents the peculiarities of the Lithuanian education system, competencies, and acquired qualifications in different levels of studies. During the research, Lithuanian higher education institutions were compared, such as universities and colleges – higher education institutions (kolegijos in Lithuanian), which provide study programmes in different field related to the media industry. In addition, the role and potential of vocational schools in training media technology specialists is presented. The results of the research show that the role of the Lithuanian education system is vital for the media industry. However, the potential is underexploited due to poor students’ career guidance, lack of specific practical skills, or the worsening demographic situation in the country. The significant shortage of specialists can be related to the global pandemic, which had a negative impact on the learning process and, at the same time, forced the search for new teaching methods and tools. The analysis of the education sector’s capacities to ensure smooth, rapid, and efficient training of specialists suggests that more emphasis should be placed on the training of media specialists in the narrow field within a relatively short period time. Such a study concept can be implemented in short-cycle studies when a specialist in specific media is trained through the synergy of a higher education institution and an industrial enterprise within a year and half or two years.

Демографическое развитие Республики Коми: факторы и тенденции

The article is devoted to the demographic situation in the Komi Republic compared to that in Russia in general. The authors have assessed the role of migration in population decline over the last intercensal period. The changes in the level and structure of fertility and mortality have been identified in view of escalation the measures of demographic policy for fertility increase and in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The significant birth rate increase over the average Russian value in recent years is a result of realization the regional maternal capital program introduction the third-child-allowance for low-income families, and restoration of the ethnic reproductive behavior of Komi people under conditions of economic stimulation of multi-child families. In the first pandemic year, the mortality rate rose and we observed a positive reduction in the gap between life expectancy of the population of our republic and that in whole Russia, as well as between the rural and the urban population both at state and region levels. The above process was related with the mode of population resettlement and density, as well as with the behavior of people during the period of restrictive measures in the pandemic which determined the rate of infection spread. In 2021, the life expectancy of Komi population repeatedly decreased highlighting the decrease in mortality from other causes. As a result, the natural population loss in the region for the first time exceeded the Russian average.

National characteristics of pension insurance system in China

Aim. To determine the directions of development of the pension insurance system in China, taking into account the peculiarities of its creation and development in the conditions of modern demographic trends.Tasks. To study the impact of population ageing on the Chinese economy; to analyse the pension insurance system in China; to determine the prospects and recommendations for improving the sustainability of pension insurance in China.Methods. The study is based on the use of methods of scientific knowledge, analysis and synthesis, comparison, application of systemic and institutional approaches to assess the pension insurance system in China.Results. The paper studies the formation and development of the pension system of the People’s Republic of China. The article analyses the dynamics of economic indicators on pension and insurance markets of China, presents the characteristic of demographic situation. The assessment of the sustainability of social security in China is presented.Conclusions. Basic pension insurance dominates the Chinese pension system. Accelerating population ageing is a major challenge for the system. At the same time, corporate and individual insurance have a certain potential for growth, as a result, it is the dynamics of their development that will determine the vector of development of the entire pension system of China.

Analysis on the Retirement Model of “Medical Combined with Nursing” for Commercial Insurance Companies to Cope with the Demographic Situation in China

China’s population is characterized by an aging problem and a widespread situation where elderly people live with illnesses, which leads to a constant increase in the demand for medical and nursing resources among the elderly. In 2014 September, National Development and Reform Commission jointly with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and nine other departments jointly issued the “Notice on Accelerating the Promotion of Health and Elderly Services Project Construction”, formally referred to the “medical combined with nursing” expression for the first time. Since then, various industries have been actively exploring the retirement model of “medical combined with nursing”, the insurance industry has also been actively participating in exploring the layout. The retirement model of “medical combined with nursing” can integrate medical and nursing resources to effectively address the reality of China’s demographic situation. In this context, this paper analyzes the participation of China’s commercial insurance companies in the retirement model of “medical combined with nursing” and puts forward optimization suggestions.

Анализ правовых и социально-психологических аспектов феномена «чайлдфри»

The article is devoted to the theoretical analysis of the psychological foundations of «conscious childlessness» as a complex socio-psychological phenomenon, as well as the formation of a psychologically and legally justified attitude to it. The subject of the scientific research was the psychology of the phenomenology of «childfree», its purpose was to study the legal and socio–psychological aspects of «conscious childlessness». The research methodology was based on axiological, phenomenological, humanistic, genetic and activity approaches in psychology, the provisions of gender psychology, family psychology and deviantology. Both general philosophical research methods (abstraction, deduction, induction) and a private scientific method – content analysis of domestic and foreign sources on the Childfree problem were used. 20 diverse publications were analyzed, primarily in the field of deviantology, family psychology, social psychology and engineering, regulatory legal acts.
 As a result of the study, the corresponding genesis and multifactorial determination of the ideology of «conscious childlessness» are shown. Potentiating the emergence of childfree tendencies in society were social attitudes, the development of feminist movements, the leveling of biological instincts of generosity, the spread of psychotechnologies of social engineering, the change in the technological way of life of society. A special role in the existence of «childfree» as a phenomenon is assigned to economic goal-setting. The negative consequences of «conscious childlessness» for society are given. Since the conscious philosophy of childlessness aggravates the demographic situation in the state, the objective necessity of solving this problem at the level of the state and society, as well as in practical psychology, is justified. The novelty of the scientific research is that it shows an atypical path for social development and a socially dangerous (dead-end) path of childbirth – conscious childlessness. The material of the article is aimed at strengthening the institution of family and marriage, as well as psychological prevention of the occurrence and existence of the phenomenon of childfree in Russia.

Ageing and its consequences - the use of virtual reality (VR) as a tool to visualize the problems of the elderly.

The population ageing phenomenon is mainly attributable to the increasing proportion of people >60 years of age. This demographic situation requires more attention to the needs of the elderly. Given the lack of effective methods to expand the knowledge of and increase sensitivity to elderly people's problems, especially among the younger generation, an attempt has been made to use virtual reality (VR) to prepare an educational tool focused on these problems. This paper will focus on the use of VR in depicting fundamental problems in the daily live of older people. For project purposes, a questionnaire (26 question) was developed, concerning data on socio-demographic situation, health and physical conditions; social, living and housing support needs. Additionally, qualitative interviews were conducted with elderly people regarding their needs about housing arrangements and daily activities. It was distributed to 100 people, 34 completed questionnaires were obtained from 30 women and 4 men. The study results were intended as information that would provide the basis for developing VR scenarios, not for the epidemiological purposes. The mean age of the respondents was 73.7±7.5 (60‒86 years). Different situations, as heavy housework, lifting/carrying heavy objects, lifting hands above the shoulder level, bending and squatting were identified that pose problems for elderly people. Based on these results, 3 scenario proposals were prepared, including situations: in the bathroom, in the supermarket, on a trip to the city. These scenarios were used to prepare the exercises in VR in the frame of European project - the Mixed Reality on Universal Design's Secret Service (Mr. UD) Project. The use of immersive technology such as VR can be beneficial for young people to be able to see perspectives of the elderly. Students from various fields (medicine, nursing, future engineers, designers, sociologists, etc.) may feel like the elderly and experience their daily challenges. Med Pr. 2023;74(3):159-70.

Reputational Risks of the University in the New Conditions for the Development of Russian Higher Education

The conditions for the development of the modern world community are constantly changing and becoming more complex. They have a serious impact on the activities of organizations and enterprises in the sectors of the national economy. Higher education institutions are also under the influence of changing conditions. This can be seen via new serious problems and risks, including reputational ones that require special attention and response, and an effective state policy to support domestic universities. The purpose of the article is to consider the new conditions for the development of Russian universities and to determine the current reputational risks in their activities. The following results have been obtained within the study: the changed conditions for the Russian universities’ activities are assessed; the reputational risks of higher education institutions due to the latest operating conditions and development trends are identified, analyzed, and justified. The threats to the universities’ reputation appear due to the pressure of global sanctions and due to domestic problems: the deteriorating demographic situation, the transformation of the higher education system, the decline in the training of scientific personnel, the slowdown in the development of the academic profession, the spread of coronavirus infection, etc. Today’s state policy in the field of higher education creates prospects for further development of Russian universities, for increasing the efficiency of their activities and competitiveness in the educational services market, and, on this basis, for strengthening their reputation. The results of our research may be of interest to the heads of higher educational institutions, to their teaching staff, as well as to the scholars who study the problems of higher education management.

Коморбідні стани при ожирінні у дітей

Background. The unfavorable demographic situation in Ukraine is due to the spread of diseases of civilization (obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, metabolically associated fatty liver disease) and requires early diagnosis, personalized treatment, and improvement of ways to prevent these diseases especially in childhood. About 15 million people die from non-communicable diseases every year. The mortality rate caused by the diseases of civilization is increased in a certain category of people who are included in the group of "high risk" regarding metabolic disorders. The aim of the study: to identify the contribution of comorbid conditions (impaired fasting glycemia/car-bohydrate tolerance, dyslipidemia, metabolically-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), arterial hypertension) to the development of meta-bolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) in children. Materials and methods. 210 obese children aged 6-18 years were examined. The main group (n = 128) were children with MUO according to the criteria of IDEFICS 2014. The control group (n = 82) were children with metabolically healthy obesity (metabolically healthy obesity — MHO). All children underwent a general clinical, immunobiochemical examination with electroche-miluminescence detection, enzymatic colorimetric method in the certified laboratory "Synevo" (Dnipro, Ukraine), sonographic and bioimped-ance examination. Static analysis included variational analysis with calculation of Student’s test (t); sequential Wald analysis with calculation of relative risk (RR); Spearman’s correlation analysis by calculating the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (ρ). The critical value of the level of statistical significance (p) for all types of analysis was accepted at the level of p < 0.05 (5 %). Results: In patients with MUO, violations of tolerance to carbohydrates are registered in 26.7 %, dyslipidemia — in 53.3 %, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease — in 66.6 %, arteri-al hypertension — in 46.6 % of cases. Whereas among patients with MHO, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is diagnosed in 10 % and dyslipidemia in 5 % of cases. The relative risk of developing MUO is most associated with basal hyperinsulinemia (9,33); sonographic criteria of heterogeneity of liver tissue according to Saverymuttu (6.33); extreme obesity (6); ALT/AST ratio ≥ 1 (3.56); sonographic criteria of hep-atomegaly (3.33); an increase in diastolic (3.07) and systolic blood pressure (2.27) and a decrease in high-density lipoproteins. Conclusions: The metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is the most frequent comorbid condition found in various phenotypes of obesity in children.Keywords: metabolically unhealthy obesity, metabolically healthy obesity, impaired carbohydrate tolerance, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolically associated fatty liver disease.

სოციალურ-ეკონომიკური ფაქტორების გავლენა შობადობის თანამედროევე ტენდენციებზე

სოციალურ-ეკონომიკური ფაქტორების გავლენა შობადობის თანამედროევე ტენდენციებზე

ПОЛИЭТНИКАЛЫҚ ЖӘНЕ ПОЛИКОНФЕССИОНАЛДЫ ҚОҒАМ ҚАЛЫПТАСТЫРУДЫҢ ҚАЗАҚСТАНДЫҚ ҮЛГІСІ: СИПАТТАМАЛЫҚ ТАЛДАУ

Abstract. Interethnic relations in the multinational Kazakh country have become a decisive factor in sustainable and democratic development, an objective prerequisite for national security and the basic basis of the state's foreign policy activities. Our country is the most steadily developing State in the region. Kazakhstan is a reliable and authoritative partner state for countries with friendly intentions. The main values of the State are ensuring freedom and equal rights of people regardless of their ethnic origin and religious beliefs. The creation of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan indicates that the national policy has actually reached the institutional level. The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan as a social institution forms effective mechanisms for the harmonization of interethnic relations and lays a new qualitatively new foundation. The essence of this innovation was to establish mutual partnerships between State policy and public associations in strengthening interethnic and interreligious harmony. This is a unique phenomenon in the history of modern civilization. Thus, the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan is a synthesis of state policy and public organizations in strengthening social harmony and tolerance of civil society. The main milestones of the 20-year period of the formation and development of the APK as a socio-political institution regulating the sphere of interethnic relations, the study of the main value of national unity – tolerance of the people of Kazakhstan - is a very topical issue and determines the relevance of the work. There remain studies, conclusions and scientific opinions of foreign and domestic historians, political scientists devoted to ethnopolitical processes. The article examines historical, political events and interethnic relations from the point of view of objective reality and differentiates in accordance with the requirements of country interests. The research work uses the principles of system-structural theory, accurate analysis, methods of generalization, comparison, systematization, logical, statistical analysis from historical data and documents. In addition, the article examines historical, political events and interethnic relations from the point of view of objective reality and differentiates in accordance with the requirements of country interests. Based on the analysis of the experience of the twenty-year history of the development of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Social Harmony and National Policy was studied as a socio-political institute for the coordination of interethnic relations, the main core of which is the ethnopolitics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Keywords: ethnos; multinational; demographic situation; ethnic structure; interethnic; interreligious denomination; migration; social harmony.

Autosensitization to human chorionic gonadotropin: etiology, role in reproductive loss, and approaches to therapy

The important role of human chorionic gonadotropin in pregnancy suggests the occurrence of reproductive disorders due to the circulation of specific antibodies, especially in early pregnancy, which can lead to a cascade of pathological reactions such as implantation failure, placentation, trophoblast invasion, and ultimately fetal rejection. The lack of knowledge and the complexity of diagnosing and treating this autoimmune pathology in reproductive medicine and obstetrics negatively affects both the outcomes of each individual pregnancy and the demographic situation as a whole. This review article highlights the main ideas about the causes of human chorionic gonadotropin antibody occurrence, the pathological mechanisms, the reproductive and obstetric complications associated with human chorionic gonadotropin autoantibodies, diagnostic methods, and therapeutic approaches.

МЕХАНИЗМЫ РЕШЕНИЯ ДЕМОГРАФИЧЕСКИХ ПРОБЛЕМ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКИХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ

An urgent problem of social and economic development of the regions of the Russian Federation is a steady process of depopulation, which is especially acute in rural areas. Thus, the results of a study of the interdependence of the demographic situation, social and economic situation, quality of life and the state of the environment indicate stable negative trends in the regions of Volga Federal District. The assessment of integral indicators for economic, social, environmental and demographic blocks, each of which is represented by official state statistics, made it possible to assess the degree of their differentiation between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the causal relationships between them. To classify the regions of Volga Federal District, a hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out using the full connection method, which made it possible to combine them into 3 relatively homogeneous clusters and obtain characteristics for the main blocks - elements of sustainable development. The cluster with a high level of development included 4 regions - the Republic of Tatarstan, Perm Territory, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions. The cluster with an average level is represented by 4 subjects of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Mari El, the Chuvash Republic and the Orenburg region. The regions of 3 clusters have a low level of development, namely the Republic of Mordovia, the Udmurt Republic, the Kirov, Penza, Saratov and Ulyanovsk regions. According to the results of a comparative analysis, both in terms of average indicators of clusters and in individual regions, it is stated that the demographic situation in almost all subjects of Volga Federal District on average for 2019-2021 was unfavorable, the actual indicators significantly exceed the maximum critical values of demographic security. The study of the demographics of the municipalities of the Republic of Mordovia, one of the most crisis regions of Volga Federal District, testifies to an even deeper differentiation of the demographic state, requiring government decisions. This, in turn, is associated with the formation and implementation of an ecistic policy in the regions with the general goal of saving people, especially in peripheral rural areas with a demographic crisis and a low level of economic and social development. It is argued that a regular spatial analysis of the demographic situation is necessary when predicting the social and economic development of regions and municipalities in the long and medium term, as well as when assessing the activities of state regional and municipal authorities.

ETHNO-GEOGRAPHIC MACRO-REGIONATION OF UKRAINE AS THE INFORMATION BASIS FOR REGIONAL ETHNIC POLICY

A comprehensive analysis of macro-regional ethno-geographical differences in Ukraine was made, which are most evident in the different proportions of the number of ethnic Ukrainians and representatives of ethno-national minorities in the regions of the country, as well as in the peculiarities of the population structure by native language. The main factors in the formation of ethnogeographic regions are historical and geographical prerequisites, subjective aspects of the formation of the state territory of Ukraine, population migration, and the peculiarities of state policy in Soviet times. Determination of common and distinctive features of the ethno-national and ethno-linguistic structure of the population between the regions of Ukraine using a number of indicators (the value of the quantitative superiority of Ukrainians over the largest ethnic minority by region; the ratio of the share of Ukrainians and the population with a native Ukrainian language; the ratio of the share of Ukrainians with a native Russian language and the share of Russians with in the native Ukrainian language) made it possible to distinguish 12 ethnogeographic regions: 1) Transcarpathian; 2) Halych; 3) Volyn; 4) Chernivtsi; 5) Podillya-Polyssya; 6) Central-Right Bank; 7) Central-Left Bank; 8) Dnipro-Kharkiv; 9) Donetsk; 10) Odessa; 11) Central-Black Sea; 12) Crimean.
 Since the proposed scheme of ethnogeographic zoning reflects not only the most significant regional differences in the ethno-national composition of the population and its linguistic structure, but also reveals of the political development and socio-economic development of the territory of Ukraine, significant differences in the levels of urbanization and the demographic situation of the regions, it can to be the basis of integral socio-geographical macro-regionalization of Ukraine and an important reference point in the implementation of regional ethnopolitics aimed at balancing the interests of the state, ethno-national communities and groups. The strategic task of regional ethnopolitics is the resolution of ethnopolitical contradictions and the prevention of ethnopolitical conflicts in ethnogeographical macro-regions. The solution of ethnopolitical problems related to the use of the state and the languages of ethno-national minorities in various spheres of society's life is of leading importance in the implementation of state ethnopolitics. These problems are the most urgent for Transcarpathian, Chernivtsi and Odesa ethnographic regions. The relatively high degree of russification of ethnic Ukrainians in the regional centers of the Central-Left Bank, Dnipro-Kharkiv, Central-Black Sea and Odesa ethnogeographic regions deepens contrasts in the linguistic structure of the population of rural areas and large cities, which creates functional barriers in their relations and does not contribute to linguistic cultural consolidation of Ukrainian society.
 Key words: ethnogeographic zoning, ethnic composition of the population, structure of the population by native language, regional ethnopolitics, assimilation.

Status of household dietary diversity and associated factors among rural and urban households of Northern Uganda

BackgroundIn Northern Uganda, 21 and 52.4% of children under five are underweight and stunted, respectively while 32.9% of pregnant women are anemic. This demographic situation suggests among other issues, a lack of dietary diversity among households. Good nutrition practices that confer dietary quality such as dietary diversity are known to depend on nutrition knowledge and attitude and are shaped by sociodemographic and cultural factors. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence to support this assertion for the variably malnourished population of Northern Uganda.MethodsA cross-sectional nutrition survey was conducted among 364 household caregivers (182 from two locations in Northern Uganda; Gulu District (the rural) and Gulu City (the urban), selected through a multistage sampling approach. The aim was to determine the status of dietary diversity and its associated factors between rural and urban households of Northern Uganda. The household dietary diversity questionnaire and the food frequency questionnaire on a 7-day reference period were used to collect data on household dietary diversity whereas multiple choice questions and the five points Likert Scale were used to determine knowledge and attitude toward dietary diversity. Consumption of ≤ 5 food groups were regarded as low in dietary diversity, 6–8 food groups as medium and ≥ 9 as high dietary diversity score using the FAO 12 food groups. An Independent two-sample t-test was used to differentiate the status of dietary diversity between the urban and rural areas. The Pearson Chi-square Test was used to determine the status of knowledge and attitude while Poisson regression was used to predict dietary diversity based on caregivers’ nutritional knowledge and attitude and their associated factors.ResultsThe 7-day dietary recall period revealed that dietary diversity was 22% higher in urban (Gulu City) than in the rural area (Gulu District) with rural and urban households achieving medium (score of 8.76 ± 1.37) and high (score of 9.57 ± 1.44) dietary diversity status, respectively. Diets in both locations were dominated by starchy cereals and tubers while animal-source foods and fruits and vegetables were the least consumed. A higher proportion (51.65%) of urban respondents had good nutrition knowledge toward dietary diversity compared to their rural counterparts (23.08%) and a significantly higher proportion (87.91%) of the former exhibited positive attitude towards dietary diversity than the rural counterparts (72.53%). Application of the Poisson regression shows that nutritional knowledge was a positive predictor of dietary diversity in the rural (β = 0.114; ρ = 0.000) than in the urban areas (β = -0.008; ρ = 0.551). Caregivers attitude had no significant effect across locations. In terms of associated factors, marital status is a positive predictor of dietary diversity in the urban (β = 1.700; ρ = 0.001) than the other location (β = -2.541; ρ = 0.008). Whereas education level of household caregiver and household food expenditure show negative effects across the two locations, the educational level of the household head is an outlier as it positively predicted dietary diversity in the rural (β = 0.003; ρ = 0.002) when compared to urban area (β = -0.002; ρ = -0.011).ConclusionRural households in Northern Uganda have medium-level dietary diversity with urban households having high dietary diversity. Diets in both locations are dominated by starchy cereals and roots and tubers. The urban–rural food divide can be harmonized through nutrition education and outreach, specifically focusing on the FAO 12 food groups. Attitude toward consumption of fruits and vegetables which are seasonally abundant would improve dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes in the study area.