MPRHGD Programs

This is an introductory course aiming to increase understanding of students on fundamentals of population studies such as concept and definition of fertility, fecundity, mortality, morbidity, migration, urbanization and world’s and regional population trends and patterns. More specifically, the course will cover: nature and scope of population studies; relation of population studies with other disciplines; concept and definition of fecundity, fertility, crude birth rate, age-specific fertility rate, total fertility rate, gross reproduction, net reproduction, and population momentum; crude death rate, age-specific death rate, cause-specific death rate, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, still-birth, infant mortality, under-five mortality, maternal mortality rate and ratios, life expectancy, crude rate of natural increase; morbidity, incidence rate, prevalence rate, and case fatality rate; migration, in-migration, out-migration, immigration, emigration, gross and net migration; urbanization, over urbanization , counter urbanization, primate and mega city . The course will also examine current and projected world population growth, population growth (current and projected) by regions, population growth (current & projected) by developed and developing countries, and population growth (current & projected) by SAARC countries. The course materials will be presented by holding both theoretical and practical classes. In practical classes students will be given hands-on-training in calculating various demographic parameters covered by the course using Bangladesh data.

This course aims to develop students’ skill in conducting research work utilizing quantitative and qualitative research tools. The course includes ethics in social science research, including population research, nature of scientific research, research process, hypothesis development, research design, data collection methods, questionnaire design and administration, sampling considerations, use of statistical methods of data reduction and analysis, format and style of writing the research report. It also deals with tools and techniques of Rapid Appraisal and focus group discussions. In addition to participation in theoretical classes, students are required to undertake independent research projects to sharpen their research skills.

The course will enable students to calculate and apply various mathematical and statistical tools for population analysis. It will cover following topics: set theory, exponential and logarithms functions, introductory calculus and curve fitting, determinants and matrices, linear algebra, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion, test of hypothesis, scatter diagrams, correlation, regression, multivariate analysis, non-parametric tests and the statistical fallacies. In addition to theoretical lectures, students are required to participate in practical classes. In practical classes, students will be given hands-on-training in calculating these mathematical and statistical measures covered by the course.

The objective of the course is to make students familiar with the basic demographic methods for population analysis. The course includes sources of demographic data, methods of evaluation of census data and measures of population growth, measures of fertility, mortality, migration, urbanization, and life table construction. The course will also introduce methods of population projections. In addition to theoretical lectures, students are required to participate in practical classes. In practical classes, students will be given hands-on-training in the basic techniques of population analysis covered by the course using Bangladesh data.

The course aims to increase awareness of students in level and trend in population size, growth and distribution; major population, gender, RH challenges of the country and national response to meet these challenges. The course will cover the following topics: sources of population data; trends in population size, growth and distribution, age-sex composition of the population, sex and dependency ratio; population distribution by rural, urban, division, district and sub-division; levels and trends in nuptiality, fertility, mortality, morbidity, literacy and educational attainment; labour force participation rate, occupation and industrial distribution by sex and rural-urban areas and region. The course will also examine the socio-economic implications of major population, gender and reproductive health challenges such as population momentum, high adolescent fertility, maternal and child mortality, rapid urbanization and high growth of labour force, environmental degradation, high prevalence of gender based violence and girls’ trafficking, to name but a few and policy and programme response to meet these challenges. In addition to holding theoretical lectures, tutorial classes will be organized for in-depth discussion on major population, R.H and gender issues of Bangladesh. Students will be asked to prepare term papers on major population and development issues as part of the course requirement.

The course will orient students with the evolution of population theories from Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Confucius, Chanakya, Graunt and Petty, Car Saunders, Malthus, Marx and Engle to Demographic Transition, Neo-classical Population Theory, Threshold Hypothesis and differential fertility and distribution justice hypothesis.

The course will expose students to a variety of national and international instruments related to population policy and programme. It will cover the following topics: definition and scope of population policy, types of population policies, concept of population influencing and responsive policies. The course will also cover international population policy instruments such as Bucharest (1974), Mexico (1984), Cairo (1994), Rio (1992), Bali (1992), Beijing (1995), Copenhagen (1996), Bangkok (2002) and population policy and Programme in Bangladesh and methods of programme monitoring and evaluation.

The objective of the course is to increase awareness of students on levels and trends, determinants and consequences of urbanization and migration and policies and programmes on urbanization and migration. The lecture will cover the following topics: (i) definition, types of migration and terminology, (ii) level and pattern of internal migration, (iii) level and pattern of international (in and out) migration, (iv) global patterns of migration, (v) relationship between migration and poverty, (vi) migration theories, (vii) consequences of internal and international migration, (viii) national and international migration policy regimes, (ix) definition and urban poverty, housing and social problems and (xii) urbanization policies and programmes.

The purpose of the module is to improve understanding of students on definition and basic concepts of Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health (RH) and components of RH- family planning, maternal care, Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI), Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI), HIV and AIDS, sexuality, unmet need for family planning, quality of family planning services, adolescent and male reproductive health, major reproductive health issues of men, women and adolescents, and human sexuality and gender relations. The course will also cover laws on marriage, Islamic perspective on family planning and national and international policies and programmes on RH/Family Planning.

The Module aims to increase better understanding of students on the concept and definition of population, gender and development, major gender issues in the country and its underlying causes, evolving concept of development and national and international instruments on gender and development. The lecture will cover the following topics: (a) concept and definition of: gender and sex, gender equality, equity and women’s empowerment, gender stereotypes, gender mainstreaming in the context of development policy planning, gender analysis and meaning and interpretation of gender in development; (b) causes, consequences and policy implications of major gender issues such as: under count of women’s work in national GDP, Gender gap in educational attainment rates, under representation of women in higher level decision making, gender based violence, gender stereotyping, and female headed households. The lecture will also introduce newly emerged concepts of development such as head count ratio, human development index, human vulnerability index, poverty ratio gap, gender development index and gender empowerment index and national and international (WSSD, ICPD, Beijing, CEDAW, MDGs) instruments on population, gender and development.

The objective of the course is to improve understanding of students on the linkages between population size, growth and environment and awareness on national and international instruments on environment. The lecture will cover the following topics:(1) pathways (a) sub-division, (b) depletion and (c) degradation of renewable resources, through which population size and growth affects environment, (ii) trends in population size and rate of growth on the one hand and availability of agricultural land, land use, food security, clean water, forest, bio-diversity and urban environmental problems (sanitation, solid waste, water and air pollution, energy consumption, emissions and urban health) on the other in Bangladesh. The lecture will also examine linkages between population, migration and the rural environment and relationship between health, mortality and environment and review national and international instruments on population and environment.

The Module will examine, among other things, the dynamics of relationship between population and poverty and gender dimension of poverty. The lecture will cover the following topics: (a) theoretical and empirical relationship between population and economic growth, population and poverty reduction, population and savings and investment, population and human resource development at national and household level; (b) concept and interpretation of demographic bonus/window of opportunity and relationship between demographic bonus and economic growth; (c) role of policies and programmes in translating window of opportunity emerging from fertility and mortality decline into economic growth, (d) relationship between reproductive health and poverty, poverty and mortality, (e) paradigm shift in concept and definition of development from income consumption to autonomy and dignity, (f) world, regional and national trend in gender and poverty and (g) national (IPRSP/PRSP/National Development Plans) and international instruments (WSSD, MDG) on poverty reduction.

The course will orient students with the fundamentals of computer and its utilization in statistical and demographic analysis. The course will cover the following topics: basics of window operating system, excel, power point and use of statistical packages such as SPSS, SAS in data entry and analysis and demographic software such as MORTPAK-LITE, FIV FIV, POPDEV, etc in population analysis. Hands-on training will also be given in the utilization of Internet in searching for wide variety of websites, particularly those related to reproductive health, population, gender and development.

The Module aims to increase awareness on the levels and trends of adolescent population, their development concerns and national responses to meet the current and emerging needs of adolescents. The course will cover the following topics: trends in adolescent population size, growth and their distribution by sex for the country, rural-urban, division and sub-divisional level; and development challenges of adolescents such as demand for education, employment and skill development, including life skill training, reproductive & sexual health needs of adolescents such as early marriage, early motherhood, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and infertility and its implications on economy and service delivery. The course will also closely examine the adequacy of existing policies and programmes to meet the needs of the adolescent population.

The purpose of this course is to introduce relatively advanced demographic methods for population analysis. The course will cover the following topics: importance of indirect techniques; evolution of indirect techniques; demographic models (stable & quasi-stable population); model life tables- UN Model Life Table, UN Model Life Tables for developing countries, Coale and Demeny Regional Model Life Tables, Lederman’s System of Model Life Table and Brass Logit Life Table); methods of estimation of fertility based on information of children ever born, own children and age distribution; methods of estimation of child mortality based on information of children ever born and surviving, orphan hood and widowhood; methods of estimation of adult mortality from information on the distribution of death by age, and inter-censal survival estimates; survival methods of measuring migration and methods of population projections at national, sub-national and sectoral levels. In addition to theoretical lectures, students are required to participate in practical classes. In practical classes, students will be given hands-on-training in the advanced techniques of population analysis covered by the course using Bangladesh data.

The course aims to increase awareness of students on level and trend in population ageing, socio-economic challenges of ageing and policy response to population ageing. The course will cover a wide range of topics including: global, regional and national trends and prospects of ageing, causes and challenges (demographic and social including health) of ageing, and its implications on economy and service delivery, lessons learnt on population ageing from developed countries, changing role of the family and community in providing support and national and international policy responses to population ageing.

The course aims to increase awareness of students on levels and trend in HIV/AIDS-its causes and consequences and policy response to HIV/AIDS. The course will cover the following topics: global, regional, and national levels, trends and prospects of HIV/AIDS; knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its prevention among population of Bangladesh; demographic, economic and social consequences of HIV/AIDS at national, household and individual level; methods of data collection on HIV/AIDS and also review national and international responses to HIV/AIDS.

The course will cover following topics: concept and definition of gender equity, equality, women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming, theoretical approaches to gender, sex-role socialization, structure and ideology, sex differences in intellectual functioning and the culture of masculinity, instruments of women’s empowerment, political and economic empowerment of women: cross cultural perspective.

The course aims to provide students with a good knowledge on how health of a foetus, or an individual, or the parents or the neighborhood environment influences the population parameters at large. In turn how the population parameters affect the individual health, parental health and the neighborhood environment in short. The course covers the following topics: (i) Puberty, marital or extra-marital sexual union, conception, pregnancy maintenance, foetal wastage, stillbirth, live birth, postpartum amenorrhea etc), (ii) interaction between parental health on the one hand and the conception, pregnancy and survival of births on the other, (iii) interaction between neighborhood variables such as water, sanitation, industrial pollution, poultry and diary farm and the health of pregnant mother and her foetus, (iv) attrition process of different sub-groups of population because of differential death experiences, (v) construction and comparison of life-tables of different sub-groups of population (vi) computation of age sex structure of population and other demographic parameters from incomplete or faulty data.

Introduces application of basic microeconomic concepts and tools to resource allocation and policy problems facing health-sector decision makers. Covers the application of demand concepts to health care-seeking behavior and their implications for marketing and for the design of insurance programs. Uses basic concepts of cost and production theory to examine problems in efficiency measurement and issues of market structure and antitrust policy. Demonstrates the application of basic demand and production concepts to cost-benefit analysis and related techniques. Economic approaches to evaluating performance of national health care systems are also examined. In addition to theoretical classes, students will be required to participate in practical classes, in which they will be given hand-on-training in the application of economic concepts and tools to health care-seeking behaviour, cost-benefit analysis and evaluation of national health care system of Bangladesh.

The course will cover following topics: rational choice theory, games theory, firm survival analysis, global population dynamics and consumer demographics, demographic forces shaping world economic order, global economy and consumers’ behaviour change, application of demographics in forecasting demand for products and business decision-making. Students will be also trained on basic survey research tools to assess consumers’ choice for products. Practical classes will be also organized to provide hands-on-training to students on application of concepts and tools covered in this course in analyzing business trends in Bangladesh.

A student will be required to complete (a) a thesis on a population, reproductive health, gender and related topic approved by the faculty of MPRHGD through a full semester internship with a population, reproductive health or allied institution and (b) present the thesis in a seminar to be organized by the MPRHGD Department. Two persons will supervise the thesis- one from the mentor institution and the other from the MPRHGD Department.