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1 – 10 of over 49000
Article
Publication date: 31 August 2022

Reta Lemessa, Gudeta Aga, Ararso Tafese and Temesgen Senbeto

This study aims to examine the differences within individuals and clusters in nutritional status and identify socioeconomic factors in the nutritional status of under-five…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the differences within individuals and clusters in nutritional status and identify socioeconomic factors in the nutritional status of under-five children in Ethiopia.

Design/methodology/approach

A weighted sub-sample of 5,270 under-five children was drawn from the under-five children data set of the Ethiopian 2019 Mini Demographic and Health Survey. Multilevel modeling was used to look at the association between the nutritional status of children with predictors.

Findings

The proportion of stunting, underweight and wasting among under-five children were 39.3%, 28.6% and 16.3%, respectively. The observed Global Moran Index’s value for child malnutrition (stunting, wasting and underweight) prevalence in Ethiopia were I = 0.204 for stunting, I = 0.152 for wasting and I = 0.195 for underweight at p = 0.000 was statistically significant indicating that spatial variability of malnutrition of under-five children across survey clusters and regions was observed. Moreover, the result of heterogeneity between clusters obtained for stunting, underweight and wasting was significant providing evidence of variation among regional clusters concerning the status of nutrition of under-five children. Child’s age in months, breastfeeding, family educational level, wealth index, place of residence, media access and region were highly significantly associated with childhood malnutrition. The inclusion of the explanatory variables has shown a significant impact on the variation in malnutrition among regions.

Practical implications

Enhance education, expanding the activities regarding nutritional and health services using media, health extension workers, and health institutions.

Originality/value

The study provides the malnutrition situation status of Ethiopian country when the survey carried out.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 53 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 December 2009

Diddy Antai, Sara Wedrén, Rino Bellocco and Tahereh Moradi

Each ethnic group has its own peculiar cultural practices that may widen inequalities in child health and survival among ethnic groups. This study estimated ethnic disparities in…

Abstract

Each ethnic group has its own peculiar cultural practices that may widen inequalities in child health and survival among ethnic groups. This study estimated ethnic disparities in mortality of under‐five‐year‐olds, controlling for individual and community level characteristics. Using multilevel multivariable regression analysis on a nationally representative sample drawn from 7,864 households in the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, we estimated the risks of deaths under‐five‐year‐olds for 6,029 children nested within 2,735 mothers aged 15‐49 years old, who were in turn nested within 365 communities. Results were expressed as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. The observed risk of under‐five death was highest among children of Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri mothers and lowest among children of Yoruba mothers. The mother's affiliation to the Yoruba ethnic group, compared to Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri, was still significantly associated with decreased under‐five mortality (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.45 ‐ 0.96) after adjustment for individual and community level factors. Under‐five mortality was significantly related to socio‐economic and demographic factors (birth order/birth interval, mother's age, and mother's education), which explained much but not all of the ethnic disparities. Findings underscore the need for measures aimed at improving female education and the socio‐economic standard of women, changing short birth spacing norms and reducing inequitable distribution of maternal and child health services.

Details

Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-0980

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2021

Abhishek Singh and Kshipra Jain

Children are the most vulnerable group owing to long lasting impact of the violation of human rights in term of proper nutrition and their right to live. The purpose of this paper…

Abstract

Purpose

Children are the most vulnerable group owing to long lasting impact of the violation of human rights in term of proper nutrition and their right to live. The purpose of this paper is to assess the risk of child mortality associated with size of child at birth and mother’s anemia level in northern India.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were used from 2015–2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The participants (n = 41,412) were children aged under-five years from north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The main outcome measure was child deaths defined by under-five mortality. The univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used in data analysis. Kaplan–Meier analyses, Log-rank tests and Cox’s regression analyses were performed to fulfill the objective of the study.

Findings

There were a total of 2,835 deaths out of 41,412 births in the past five years preceding the survey period. Children of very small size at birth were significantly two and half times more likely to die than children of average size at birth. The estimated adjusted hazard ratio indicated that the children of severely anemic mothers were significantly 1.5 times more likely to die compared to children of not anemic mothers. Size of child at birth, mother’s anemia level, mother’s age at time of her first birth, wealth index and mother’s education were significantly associated with the under-five mortality in northern India.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is recall errors arising from the dates of birth and death given by women interviewed in the survey were minimized by restricting the analyses to births within the five-year period preceding the survey.

Practical implications

This study advocates the promotion of comprehensive prevention strategies through appropriate institutional mechanism would be the best intervention or adaptive mechanism to reduce the adverse impact of size of child at birth, mother’s anemia level on under-five mortality in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Originality/value

This research is original. This study enjoys a unique importance by exploring effect of size of child at birth and mother’s anemia on child survival in developing countries like India.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2023

Bismark Osei, Evans Kulu and Paul Appiah-Konadu

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of government health expenditure on the health of children (under-five mortality rate and prevalence rate of stunting) among West…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of government health expenditure on the health of children (under-five mortality rate and prevalence rate of stunting) among West African countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes heterogeneous panel from the period 1990 to 2018 among 16 West African countries for the analysis. The effect of government health expenditure on under-five mortality rate is measured in per 1,000 live births while that of stunting is measured in percentage. The study employs Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimation technique and Impulse Response Functions (IRFs) for the analysis.

Findings

The results indicate that government health expenditure has negative effect on under-five mortality rate and prevalence rate of stunting in the long-run but not significant in the short-run. In addition, the IRFs result indicates that under-five mortality rate and prevalence rate of stunting both respond negatively to shocks in government health expenditure.

Practical implications

Governments should ensure that inefficiencies in the public health sector are reduced by licensing the health workers of this sector and allowing independent bodies to appoint the heads of health institutions. This will improve the delivering of health services for the health of children.

Originality/value

Previous studies carried out have not examined the short-run and long-run effects of the relationship under study among West African countries.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2022-0212

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2022

Azmat Gani

This study investigates if wealth from natural resources impacts child health in developing countries.

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates if wealth from natural resources impacts child health in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology includes testing the effect of rents from natural resources on under-five mortality rates using a multifactor health production model for 57 developing nations. The panel estimation procedure was applied to data covering 2002 to 2017, disaggregated by non-renewable and renewable resources and low and medium human development countries.

Findings

The results provide strong evidence that wealth from total natural resources has not been associated with reductions in under-five mortality rates. However, disaggregation of the sample countries by natural resource constituents revealed that only the wealth of non-renewable is strongly inversely associated with under-five mortality rates. Further disaggregation of countries by the low and medium human development constituents revealed a statistically insignificant negative correlation of non-renewable resources wealth and under-five mortality in the low human development countries. In contrast, the results of the medium human development countries revealed that wealth from natural resources (both non-renewable and renewable) had not been associated with any reductions in under-five mortality rates. The results also confirm that immunization levels, nutrition, private spending on health care, air quality, urban living and countries closer to the equator are other strong correlates of under-five mortality rates in low human development countries.

Social implications

The findings here have implications for the timely achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (to reduce under-five deaths to around 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030). Governments ought to ensure that incomes from the extractive sector are aligned in forms that promote and feed into improving child health wellbeing.

Originality/value

This research creates a shift from aggregate health wellbeing research agenda to investigate how specific aspects of human development can be linked to wealth from non-renewable and renewable natural resources in developing nations. It adds new knowledge and provides health and natural resources policymakers opportunities to combine their policies and synergize efforts to improve child health outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 49 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2019

Chamunorwa Nyamuranga and Jaeun Shin

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the effect of public health expenditure on child mortality in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the effect of public health expenditure on child mortality in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in comparison to the developing world as a whole and the region of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design/methodology/approach

This study used panel data extracted from the World Development Indicators database for the period 2000–2013 for 98 developing countries including 15 SADC countries. A dynamic panel data model of child mortality was estimated using the system generalized method of moments technique.

Findings

Results indicate that public health expenditure has a statistically significant effect on reducing infant and under-five mortality rates in the developing world, and that this effect is strongest in the SADC. Immunization and female literacy contributed significantly to the prevention of deaths of infants and children under five in developing countries. In the region of SSA, improved water sources and the reduction in the prevalence of HIV were found to be effective in reducing childhood mortality. There was little evidence for the benefit of higher GDP per capita.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest four policy areas which should be prioritized in public health spending to achieve better health among children: ensuring that females have better access to education, providing immunizations, intensifying interventions against the spread of HIV/AIDS, and improving water and sanitation infrastructure.

Originality/value

This study, which shows that the benefits of public health expenditure may be augmented by regional collaborations like the SADC, is one of the first to explore regional heterogeneity in the effectiveness of public health expenditure for the improvement of children’s health across the developing world.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 46 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2021

Ramesh Athe, Rinshu Dwivedi, Krushna Chandra Sahoo, Debdutta Bhattacharya, Shalu Jain and Sanghamitra Pati

Congenital hearing disabilities among children are associated with lifetime discrepancies in the attainment of speech, poor academic-performance, socio-individual isolation and…

Abstract

Purpose

Congenital hearing disabilities among children are associated with lifetime discrepancies in the attainment of speech, poor academic-performance, socio-individual isolation and emotional-maladjustments. The present study aims to combine evidence from randomized, controlled trials to assess the accuracy of hearing-screening procedures and relative diagnostic-tests concomitant with partial/permanent hearing loss (HL) among neonatal and under-five children.

Design/methodology/approach

The steps in this process were conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred-Reporting-Items-for-Systematic-reviews-and-Meta-Analysis) guidelines. The PubMed, ProQuest, Science-Direct, Cochrane-Library and secondary reference databases were searched. Analyses were carried out by using fixed/random-effects-models for calculating the summary estimates on hearing-screening and test-procedure. Meta-regression-analysis is performed to explore the influence of confounders on the net-pooled effect.

Findings

A total of 1,656 articles were identified, and 1,575 were excluded as they were not relevant to the purpose of the study. Further, out of 81 studies, 67 were excluded with reasons and 14 were included in the final analysis. Three independent reviewers have assessed the titles/abstracts for their potential relevance. The results from meta-analysis indicate that hearing-screening was significantly higher in the intervention group (n 8,102; OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.34, 0.79; p < 0.00001), as depicted via forest plot. Meta-regression analysis indicates a positive relationship between the age and effect size (regression-coefficient 0.638, 95% CI 0.005, 0.731; p < 0.05).

Research limitations/implications

The evidence from the present study can be used as reference for identifying the associated risk indicators, improved hearing-screening and reduction of hearing disability among under-five children.

Practical implications

The results of this review will be used for implementation of a new-born hearing screening, diagnostic accuracy and understanding the risk indicators for HL among under-five children in the South-Asian region. The evidence will be helpful for strategic directions for improved hearing screening and reduction of hearing disability among under-five children.

Social implications

By understanding the underlying dynamics of hearing-screening procedures, hearing-impairments can be identified at an early stage and required treatment can be provided to the children.

Originality/value

The findings of this study indicate that early detection, screening and diagnosis of the HL among the children, especially among the infants and new-born (0–2 years of age), will be of utmost importance in reducing the prevalence of HL, especially among the South-Asian region. This study can be used as a reference for other future studies in the area of hearing-screening, diagnostic accuracy and associated risk indicators among children.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 April 2018

Patience Esohe Konwea, Funmilayo Alice David and Seyi Elizabeth Ogunsile

Vaccine preventable diseases are major threats to the health and well-being of children under five years of age. They contribute a great deal to childhood illnesses and…

8940

Abstract

Purpose

Vaccine preventable diseases are major threats to the health and well-being of children under five years of age. They contribute a great deal to childhood illnesses and disabilities, and are accountable for a high percentage of childhood mortality worldwide. In Nigeria, the government has made a lot of effort to provide immunizations against these childhood diseases. It is however sad to note that many children still do not complete their routine immunization. The purpose of this paper is to determine factors which influence mothers’ compliance with childhood immunization.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a descriptive study carried out among 600 mothers of under-five children randomly selected from nine postnatal clinics in Ekiti State between January and August 2016. A self-structured validated questionnaire containing items to explore demographic characteristics of respondents, compliance with child immunization (Cronbach’s α=0.92) and determinants of compliance (Cronbach’s α=0.83) was the instrument for data collection. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify determinants of mothers’ compliance with childhood immunization.

Findings

The level of compliance of mothers with childhood immunization was high (80 percent). The two factors which contributed significantly to mothers’ compliance were the mothers’ knowledge of childhood immunization (β weight= 0.243) and mothers’ educational status (β weight=0.169). Mothers with tertiary education had the highest level of compliance (76.8 percent).

Originality/value

Having good knowledge of childhood immunization and a high educational status positively influence a mothers’ compliance with child immunization.

Details

Journal of Health Research, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2586-940X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 June 2021

Iqramul Haq, Md. Ismail Hossain, Mst. Moushumi Parvin, Ahmed Abdus Saleh Saleheen, Md. Jakaria Habib and Imru- Al-Quais Chowdhury

Malnutrition is one of the serious public health problems especially for children and pregnant women in developing countries such as Bangladesh. This study aims to identify the…

2638

Abstract

Purpose

Malnutrition is one of the serious public health problems especially for children and pregnant women in developing countries such as Bangladesh. This study aims to identify the risk factors associated with child nutrition for both male and female children in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted among 23,099 mothers or caretakers of children under five years of age from a nationally representative survey named Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2019. This study used chi-square test statistic for bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the adjusted effects of those covariates on child nutritional status.

Findings

The prevalence of severely malnourished, nourishment was higher for males than females (5.3% vs 5.1%, 77.4% vs 76.8%) while moderately malnourished were higher for females (18.1% vs 17.4%). The findings from the multinomial model insinuated that the mother’s education level, wealth index, region, early child development, mother’s functional difficulties, child disability, reading children's books and diarrhea had a highly significant effect on moderate and severe malnutrition for male children. For the female children model, factors such as mother’s education level, wealth index, fever, child disability, rural, diarrhea, early child development and reading less than three books were significant for moderate and severe malnutrition.

Originality/value

There is a solution to any kind of problem and malnutrition is not an exceptional health problem. So, to overcome this problem, policymakers should take effective measures to improve maternal education level, wealth status, child health.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 4 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN:

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Tashi Dendup, Yun Zhao and I Gusti Ngurah Edi Putra

The differences in the distribution of factors associated with under-five mortality (UFM) can help explain the rural-urban inequities in UFM. The determinants contributing to UFM…

1836

Abstract

Purpose

The differences in the distribution of factors associated with under-five mortality (UFM) can help explain the rural-urban inequities in UFM. The determinants contributing to UFM in rural and urban areas have not been previously explored in Bhutan. This study examined the factors associated with UFM in rural and urban Bhutan and the role of the factors in explaining UFM disparity.

Design/methodology/approach

The dataset of 6,398 single births (4,999 in rural and 1,399 in urban areas) from the 2012 Bhutan National Health Survey was analyzed. Logistic regression analysis accounting for the complex survey design was performed to investigate the determinants.

Findings

The UFM rate was 2.75 times higher in rural than in urban Bhutan. In rural communities, children of younger mothers, born in households without safe sanitation and electricity, and central and eastern regions had increased UFM odds. Whereas, children born to working mothers and educated fathers, and born in households with non-working household heads had lower UFM odds in urban areas. A higher number of births and smaller household size was associated with an increased UFM odds irrespective of rural-urban residence. Environmental factors were attributable for the largest portion of rural UFM disadvantage.

Originality/value

This study helps to understand the rural-urban differences in the factors influencing UFM in Bhutan. The findings suggest that policies aimed to improve environmental and socioeconomic conditions, women empowerment, and those aimed to enhance health utilization can help reduce the rural-urban child survival disparity and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target.

Details

Journal of Health Research, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0857-4421

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 49000