Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T00:43:36.325Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Determinants of Infant Mortality in Malawi: An Analysis to Control for Death Clustering within Families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Nyovani J. Madise
Affiliation:
Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton
Ian Diamond
Affiliation:
Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton

Summary

The 1988 Malawi Traditional and Modern Methods of Child Spacing Survey data are used to identify determinants of infant mortality in Malawi. The logistic binomial analysis shows that socioeconomic factors are significant even during the neonatal period while the length of the preceding birth interval is significant in the post-neonatal period only. There is a strong familial correlation of mortality risks during both the neonatal and post-neonatal periods but the effect of geographical area of residence is stronger in the post-neonatal period.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bakketeig, L. S., Hoffman, H. J. & Harley, E. E. (1979) The tendency to repeat gestational age and birth weight in successive births. Am. J. Obstet. Gynec. 135, 1086.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell, J. C. (1979) Education as a factor in mortality decline: an examination of Nigerian data. Popul. Stud. 33, 395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cleland, J. G. & Sathar, Z. A. (1984) The effect of birth spacing on childhood mortality in Pakistan. Popul. Stud. 38, 401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleland, J. G. & van Ginneken, J. K. (1988) Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: the search for pathways of influence. Social Sci. Med. 27, 1357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cochrane, S. H., O'Hara, D. J. & Leslie, J. (1980) The Effects of Education on Health. World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 405, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
Curtis, S. L. (1992) Death Clustering, Birth Spacing and Infant Mortality in Brazil. PhD thesis, Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton.Google Scholar
Curtis, S. L., Diamond, I. & McDonald, J. W. (1993) Birth interval and family effects on postneonatal mortality in Brazil. Demography, 30, 33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Das Gupta, M. (1990) Death clustering, mother's education and the determinants of child mortality in rural Punjab India. Popul. Stud. 44, 489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DaVanzo, J., Butz, W. P. & Habicht, J. P. (1983) How biological influences on mortality in Malaysia vary during the first year of life. Popul. Stud. 37, 381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Sweemer, C. (1984) The influence of child spacing on child survival. Popul. Stud. 38, 47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gubhaju, B., Streatfield, K. & Majumder, A. K. (1991) Socioeconomic, demographic and environmental determinants of infant mortality in Nepal. J. biosoc. Sci. 23, 425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hobcraft, J. N., McDonald, J. W. & Rutstein, S. O. (1985) Demographic determinants of infant and early child mortality: a comparative analysis. Popul. Stud. 39, 363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institute of Education (1991) ML3 Software for Three Level Analysis. University of London.Google Scholar
Koenig, M. A., Phillips, J. F., Campbell, O. M. & D'Souza, S. (1990) Birth intervals and childhood mortality in rural Bangladesh. Demography, 27, 251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindenbaum, S., Chakraborty, M. & Elias, M. (1983) The Influence of Maternal Education on Infant and Child Mortality in Bangladesh. Report for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.Google Scholar
Madise, N. J. (1993) Birth Spacing in Malawi and Its Impact on Under Five Mortality. PhD thesis, Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton.Google Scholar
Malawi Government and UNICEF (1987) The Situation of Children and Women in Malawi, UNICEF, Lilongwe.Google Scholar
Mauritsen, R. H. (1984) Logistic Regression with Random Effects. PhD thesis, Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington.Google Scholar
Population Reference Bureau (1993) World Population Data Sheet. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Prosser, R., Rasbash, J. & Goldstein, H. (1991) ML3 Software for Three Level Analysis Users' Guide for Version 2.0. Institute of Education, University of London.Google Scholar
Puffer, R. R. & Serrano, C. V. (1975) Birth Weight, Maternal Age and Birth Order: Three Important Determinants of Infant Mortality. Scientific Publication No. 294, Pan American Health Organization. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Tekçe, B. & Shorter, F. C. (1984) A study of squatter settlements in Jordan. Popul. Dev. Rev. 10, Supplement, 257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trussell, J. (1988) Does family planning reduce infant mortality? An exchange. Popul. Dev. Rev. 14, 171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar