Determinants of Early Childhood Mortaliy in Nyanza Region, Kenya
Abstract
For Kenya to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), it must strive to eradicate early childhood mortality. The country has made tremendous progress in combating early childhood mortality in the recent past. However, despite the progress, the country still experiences high early childhood mortality, as per international standards. Regional mortality differentials are still evident across different regions within the country. It is due to this background that the study sought to investigate determinants of early childhood mortality in Nyanza, a region in Kenya which has persistently reported poor early childhood health indicators. Using 2014 KDHS data for Nyanza region, the study employed logistic regression and 2SLS to estimate child health outcome models (neonatal, post-neonatal, infant and under-5).
The findings of this study indicate that maternal health knowledge and sanitation play significant roles in reducing neonatal mortality but the same factors were found to have insignificant effect in determining post-neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality. Mother’s education was also found to play a significant role in reducing neonatal deaths as well as in reducing infant and under-5 mortality. Neonatal and under-5 mortality were found to increase with increase in mother’s age. Sex of the child (if male) plays a significant role in increasing infant and under-5 mortality while, on the other hand preceding birth interval of >24 significantly reduces infant and under-5 deaths. Household economic status was found to play a significant role in reducing under-5 mortality. No estimated variable in the post-neonatal model was found to be significant in determining post-neonatal mortality in Nyanza region.
Based on the findings, the study recommends increased health education and awareness programmes through mass media. The study also recommends promotion of women education as a way of empowering their households economically as well as eradicating illiteracy on matters related to child health. Finally, there is need for government and stakeholders to initiate programmes that will inform the residents of Nyanza region on need for improved sanitation and hygiene in the households.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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