Population and Health

The Population and Health study area conducts basic and applied research, offers professional education and training, and facilitates the exchange of information among policymakers, program managers, and scholars on critical population and health issues facing the Asia-Pacific region. The objective is to improve understanding of how social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental conditions interact with demographic and health trends and to contribute to the formulation of effective population, health, and development policies and programs.

Current research focuses on five important population and health issues:

Asia's transition from high to low fertility. Fertility research at the East-West Center increasingly focuses on the causes and consequences of very low fertility in many Asian countries….

Macroeconomic aspects of population change. Changes in fertility and mortality can have profound economic effects on a society through changes in the population age structure….

Family change in Asia and the United States. This project examines new patterns of family formation, roles of family members, and the relationship between work and family life….

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia: Policy analysis, research, and training. The East-West Center conducts an active program of policy analysis, research, and training on HIV with a focus on Asian-Pacific epidemics….

Population and health in China. Researchers at the East-West Center work closely with national partners in China to study the causes, consequences, and policy implications of emerging population and health issues….

In conjunction with these areas of research, East-West Center specialists in population and health coordinate three training and outreach activities:

Summer Seminar on Population. The Summer Seminar on Population, held annually since 1970, serves as a forum for individuals and institutions concerned with population-related problems to identify emerging research and policy issues, share and learn new research methods and program approaches, facilitate communication between researchers and practitioners, and forge links between key institutions throughout the United States, Asia, the Pacific, and other regions of the world….

Communicating with Policymakers about Population and Health. As part of the Summer Seminar on Population, the East-West Center has conducted this workshop every year since 1996. A special website makes available all the materials used in the workshop plus a great deal more….

Association of National Census and Statistics Directors of America, Asia and the Pacific (ANCSCAAP). The mission of the Association is to foster communication and cooperation in the collection and analysis of comprehensive statistical information on human populations and their behavior….

Collaboration with the University of Hawaii's Population Studies Program. The East-West Center co-sponsors a post-graduate Population Studies Certificate offered by the University of Hawaii's Population Studies Program. In addition, East-West Center researchers, in their capacity as Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawaii, teach courses and supervise graduate students in the University's Population Studies Program….

Publications and software on population and health

Research staff
Robert D. Retherford - Coordinator, Population and Health Studies; Senior Fellow
Tim Brown - Senior Fellow
Jiajian Chen - Senior Fellow
Minja Kim Choe - Senior Fellow
Sang Hyop Lee - Fellow, EWC; Associate Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii
Andrew Mason - Senior Fellow; Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii
Karen Oppenheim Mason - Senior Adjunct Fellow
Vinod Mishra - Adjunct Fellow, EWC; Chief, Population Policy Section, United Nations
Ronald Rindfuss - Senior Fellow 
Gerard Russo - Adjunct Fellow, EWC; Associate Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii
Sidney Westley - Communications Specialist