Introduction
Medical demography studies the demographic processes closely related to the health of the population. This topic covers population dynamics, the natural and vital events and their registration, and the main demographic indicators of births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Population dynamics (period in time)
Demography (Greek demos = people, graphia = writing) studies the characteristics of human populations: size, growth, density, distribution and vital statistics. It has 2 main branches, population statics and population dynamics. Population dynamics is the study of changes in the population and of the processes influencing those changes. It includes natural and vital events (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, etc.) and migration (external, internal, forced).
Natural and vital events
- Vital registration is conducted to record key life cycle or vital events.
- According to the United Nations (2003) these are: a live birth, death, foetal death, marriage, divorce, adoption, legitimation of birth, recognition of parenthood, annulment of marriage or legal separation.
- Unlike the census, vital statistics are collected continuously and are therefore important for the study of population change.
A vital registration system should be
- Continuous
- Complete
- Permanent
- Compulsory
Main items of registration
- Age, sex, date and place of occurrence of the event, date of registration, place of residence
Additional items
- Birth registration: multiple or single birth, attendant at birth or delivery, legitimacy, mother's age.
- Death registration: cause of death, certifier, age, sex and marital status.
- Marriages: type of ceremony, age, previous marital status.
- Divorces: age, number of dependent children, duration of marriage.