Table 5 Names, brief descriptions and sources of the independent variables
From: Correlates of healthy life expectancy in low- and lower-middle-income countries
Name of the independent variables | Definition of the independent variables | Sources |
|---|---|---|
Demographic factors | ||
Total fertility rate | The average number of births reported during a woman’s reproductive life. | [18] |
Health related factors | ||
Millennium development goals (MDGs) | The MDGs are eight international development goals that all 194 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. | [15] |
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rate | The percentage of people aged 15–49 who are infected with HIV. | [18] |
Physician density | The number of physicians per ten thousand populations. | [15] |
Socioeconomic status | ||
Mean years of schooling | The average number of schooling per person aged 25 and older. | [16] |
Gross national income (GNI) per capita | The GNI in purchasing power parity divided by mid-year population. | [18] |
Health expenditure | The sum of public and private health expenditures as a ratio of total population. | [18] |
Urban population (% of total) | According to National Statistical Offices, the urban population refers to that person who is living in urban areas. To calculate it the necessary information is population estimated by World Bank and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. | [18] |
Social structural factors | ||
Freedom of the press | The degree of media freedom analyzing the events and developments of each calendar year. It ranges from 0 (the most free) to 100 (the least free). | [21] |
Corruption perceptions index | The perceived levels of corruption in public sector worldwide. It ranges from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). | [19] |
Prison population rate | The prison population per 100,000 national populations. | [22] |
Economic freedom | The degree of freedom of the people in economic activities which captures various institutional aspects influencing economic activities, based on rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. It ranges from 0 (minimum freedom) to 100 (maximum freedom). | [20] |
Environmental issues | ||
Improved drinking-water sources using rate | The percentage of the population using an improved drinking-water source. It includes piped household water connection located inside the user’s dwelling, plot or yard and other improved drinking water sources like public taps or standpipes, tube wells or boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater collection. | [3] |
Improved sanitation using rate | The percentage of the population using an improved sanitation system, where sanitation refers the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces. | [3] |
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission per capita (tones) | The discharge of CO 2 from the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement. | [18] |