Abstract :
Introduction: Scientific thinking and methods are necessary in order to make valid comparisons of the
distribution of health outcomes within and across populations. To date, no prior report has been identified
as examining the population structure of Rajasthan and its implication for public health planning applied
to eye health and vision care service utilization. In this report, the population structure of Rajasthan was
examined based on official projections. A brief discussion was offered for the use of population structure
data in public health planning, specifically to support eye health and vision care public health programming
in Rajasthan.
Methods: Using an ecological design, secondary data were used to examine the projected population
structures of Rajasthan and India from 2016 to 2026. The data were abstracted from publically-available
reports and organized by age group and sex for 2016, 2021, and 2026. Population pyramids were constructed
for the data from each of the three aforementioned years for both the population of Rajasthan and the
corresponding data for the population of India.
Results: The projected population of Rajasthan is expected to rise from 2016 to 2026. During this tenyear time span, the proportion of individuals in the younger age groups (birth to 34 years) will represent a
sizable number of individuals compared to those in the older age groups. A comparison of the projected
population structures, by age-group strata and sex, showed differences in population pyramids.
Discussion: These findings suggest that, when making public health planning decisions for Rajasthan,
public health planners concerned with eye conditions and vision care service utilization might consider the
distribution of population by age grouping. Furthermore, it might be appropriate to establish a “standard
reference population” for Rajasthan in order to compare age-standardized rates of eye conditions and
vision care utilization through 2026.
Keyword :
Population structure, Managerial epidemiology, Public health planning, Eye health and vision care service utilization