Decreasing disparities in infant survival using surveillance data from Burkina Faso

Postneonatal under-5 mortality in peri-urban and rural Eastern Uganda, 2005-2015

INTRODUCTION

Community and individual sociodemographic characteristics play an important role in child survival. However, a question remains how urbanisation and demographic changes in sub-Saharan Africa affect community-level determinants for child survival.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from the Iganga/Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site was used to obtain postneonatal under-5 mortality rates between March 2005 and February 2015 in periurban and rural areas separately. Multilevel survival analysis models were used to identify factors associated with mortality.

RESULTS

There were 43 043 postneonatal under-5 children contributing to 116 385 person years of observation, among whom 1737 died. Average annual crude mortality incidence rate (IR) differed significantly between periurban and rural areas (9.0 (8.1 to 10.0) per 1000 person-years vs 18.1 (17.1 to 19.0), respectively). In periurban areas, there was evidence for decreasing mortality from IR=11.3 (7.7 to 16.6) in 2006 to IR=4.5 (3.0 to 6.9) in 2015. The mortality fluctuated with no evidence for reduction in rural areas (IR=19.0 (15.8 to 22.8) in 2006; IR=15.5 (13.0 to 18.6) in 2015). BCG vaccination was associated with reduced mortality in periurban and rural areas (adjusted rate ratio (aRR)=0.45; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.67 and aRR=0.56; 95% CI 0.41 to 0.76, respectively). Maternal education level within the community was associated with reduced mortality in both periurban and rural sites (aRR=0.83; 95% CI 0.70 to 0.99; aRR=0.90; 95% CI 0.81 to 0.99). The proportion of households in the poorest quintile within the community was associated with mortality in rural areas only (aRR=1.08; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.18). In rural areas, a large disparity existed between the least poor and the poorest (aRR=0.50; 95% CI 0.27 to 0.92).

CONCLUSION

We found evidence for a mortality decline in peri-urban but not rural areas. Investments in the known key health (eg, vaccination) and socio-economic interventions (education, and economic development) continue to be crucial for mortality declines. Focused strategies to eliminate the disparity between wealth quintiles are also warranted. There may be equitable access to health services in peri-urban areas but improved metrics of socioeconomic position suitable for peri-urban residents may be needed.

Clustering of Infant Mortality Within Families in Rural Burkina Faso

In this study, we analyze clustering of infant deaths within families living in a rural part of western Burkina Faso. The study included 9,220 infants, born between 1993 and 2009 in Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). A clustering of infant deaths in families was explored by calculating observed versus expected number of infant deaths within families for a given family size. In addition, risk ratios were calculated for infant death depending on the vital status of the previous sibling. We observed 470 infant deaths, yielding an overall infant mortality risk of 51/1,000 births. Clustering of infant deaths within families was observed (P = 0.004). In smaller families, the mortality of firstborns was higher than for the following siblings. The infant mortality risk was higher when the preceding sibling died in infancy (P = 0.03). The study supports the hypothesis of infant death clustering existing within rural families in West Africa. Further studies are needed to shed more light on these findings with the goal to develop effective interventions directed toward the families who already lost a child.

Maternal Education, Fertility, and Child Survival in Comoros

Reduction in child mortality is a demographic progress of significant socioeconomic development relevance in Africa. This paper analyzed the effect of maternal education and fertility on child survival in the Islands of Comoros. The 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data were used. A two-stage probit regression method was used for data analysis. The results showed that about 75% of the children’s mothers had given birth to between one and five children, while more than half did not have any form of formal education. The results of the two-stage probit regression showed that while child survival reduced significantly (p < 0.05) with the age of the heads of households, residence in the Ngazidja region, being born as twins, mother’s number of business trips, and number of marital unions, it increased with maternal education, fertility, male household headship, and the child being breastfed immediately after birth. It was concluded that efforts to enhance maternal education would reduce child mortality. It is also critical to promote child breastfeeding among women, while regional characteristics promoting differences in child mortality in Comoros Islands should be properly addressed with keen focus on the Ngazidja region.

Ramadan Exposure In Utero and Child Mortality in Burkina Faso: Analysis of a Population-Based Cohort Including 41,025 Children

Ramadan exposure in utero can be regarded as a natural experiment with which to study how nutritional conditions in utero influence susceptibility to disease later in life. We analyzed data from rural Burkina Faso on 41,025 children born between 1993 and 2012, of whom 25,093 were born to Muslim mothers. Ramadan exposure was assigned on the basis of overlap between Ramadan dates and gestation, creating 7 exclusive categories. We used proportional hazards regression with difference-in-differences analysis to estimate the association between Ramadan exposure at different gestational ages and mortality among children under 5 years of age. Under-5 mortality was 32 deaths per 1,000 child-years. Under-5 mortality among Muslims was 15% higher than that among non-Muslims (P < 0.001). In the difference-in-differences analysis, the occurrence of Ramadan during conception or the first or second trimester was associated with higher under-5 mortality rates among Muslims only. The mortality rates of children born to Muslim mothers were 33%, 29%, and 22% higher when Ramadan occurred during conception, the first trimester, and the second trimester, respectively, compared with children of non-Muslim mothers born at the same time (P = 0.01, P < 0.001, and P = 0.007). Having a Muslim mother was not associated with mortality when the child was not exposed to Ramadan, born during Ramadan, or exposed during the third trimester. Observance of Ramadan during early pregnancy can have detrimental consequences for the future health of the unborn child.

The impact of household wealth on child survival in Ghana

BACKGROUND

Improving child health is one of the major policy agendas for most of the governments, especially in the developing countries. These governments have been implementing various strategies such as improving healthcare financing, improving access to health, increasing educational level, and income level of the household to improve child health. Despite all these efforts, under-five and infant mortality rates remain high in many developing nations. Some previous studies examined how economic development or household's economic condition contributes to child survival in developing countries. In Ghana, the question as to what extent does economic circumstances of households reduces infant and child mortality still remain largely unanswered. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which wealth affects the survival of under-five children, using data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of Ghana.

METHODS

In this study, we use four waves of data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of Ghana from 1993 to 2008. The DHS is a detailed data set that provides comprehensive information on households and their demographic characteristics in Ghana. Data was obtained by distributing questionnaires to women (from 6000 households) of reproductive age between 15 and 49 years, which asked, among other things, their birth history information. The Weibull hazard model with gamma frailty was used to estimate wealth effect, as well as the trend of wealth effect on child's survival probability.

RESULTS

We find that household wealth status has a significant effect on the child survival in Ghana. A child is more likely to survive when he/she is from a household with high wealth status. Among other factors, birth spacing and parental education were found to be highly significant to increase a child's survival probability.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings offer plausible mechanisms for the association of household wealth and child survival. We therefore suggest that the Government of Ghana strengthens and sustains improved livelihood programs, which reduce poverty. They should also take further initiatives that will increase adult education and improve health knowledge. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Ghana that combines four cross sectional data sets from DHS to study a policy-relevant question. We extend Standard Weibull hazard model into Weibull hazard model with gamma frailty, which gives us a more accurate estimation. Finally, the findings of this study are of interest not only because they provide insights into the determinants of child health in Ghana and other developing countries, but they also suggest policies beyond the scope of health.

Decreasing child mortality, spatial clustering and decreasing disparity in North-Western Burkina Faso

Within relatively small areas, there exist high spatial variations of mortality between villages. In rural Burkina Faso, with data from 1993 to 1998, clusters of particularly high child mortality were identified in the population of the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), a member of the INDEPTH Network. In this paper, we report child mortality with respect to temporal trends, spatial clustering and disparity in this HDSS from 1993 to 2012. Poisson regression was used to describe village-specific child mortality rates and time trends in mortality. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify villages or village clusters with higher child mortality. Clustering of mortality in the area is still present, but not as strong as before. The disparity of child mortality between villages has decreased. The decrease occurred in the context of an overall halving of child mortality in the rural area of Nouna HDSS between 1993 and 2012. Extrapolated to the Millennium Development Goals target period 1990-2015, this yields an estimated reduction of 54%, which is not too far off the aim of a two-thirds reduction.