Environmental Risk Factors of Childhood Mortality in Kenya: Evidence and Policy Implications
Abstract
What is the impact of environmental factors on child death? How do
these intervening variables operate to bring about exposure and
susceptibility to infections and or malnutrition and finally child
death?
The broad objective of this study is to identify and analyze the
environmental risks of early death and to examine in some detail
observed social factors which may influence these effects.
The KDHS, 1989 data was used in this analysis so as to assess its
usefulness in undertaking such a study. After perusing through the literature revfew, it was evident that
all the environmental factors studied have been found to have a
strong relationship with childhood mortality. It is on this basis
that the environmental risk factors used in this study have been
selected namely; household size (as a measure for overcrowding),
source of water supply, type of housing and type of toilet
facility. These risk factors are quantified so as to determine
their strength in predicting child death.
In order to understand the role of these factors on mortality, two
techniques are used in the study: Trussell's technique for the
estimation of childhood mortality using defective data and Logistic
Regression model using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) for analysis.
Sponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Population Studies & Research Institute, University of Nairobi