Socio-economic correlates of under five mortality in Kenya

Abstract

This study set out to investigate the maternal socio-economic correlates of the under five mortality in Kenya. The variables of interest were; maternal education, work status, membership to women's organisation, place of residence, marital status and type of marriage. The study sought to know the effects of such factors on survivorship of infants and children. Mosley and Chen's analytical framework for the study of child survival in developing countries was adopted by the study. The study used data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) of] 993.Two methods of data analysis were used. Cross-tabulation was used to determine the·association between infant and child mortality and categories of each of the selected socio-economic variables. Since the dependent variable (survival status) is dichotomous and the explanatory variables are categorical, a logistic regression model was fitted to denote whether the index child died or survived. The analysis found out that the only level of the mother's education that had a significant influence on the survivorship of her children was secondary and above. A child whose mother had attained secondary and more education was twice as likely to survive when compared to a child whose mother had primary education. The study also found out that marital status had a significant influence on survivorship. A child whose mother was married was almost twice as likely to survive when compared to the one whose mother was never married. According to the study, employment of the mother negatively inpenced survivorship of her children. Children of employed mothers were unlikely to survive when compared to the children whose mothers were not employed. The study recommended that maternal education beyond primary level-should be encouraged and taken seriously in programme designs by the government and all the other concerned parties. Poverty and all other disincentives for schooling should be dealt with urgently with the seriousness they deserve. It was also recommended that mothers should be accorded flexible work environments to allow them time for nursing their infants especially in their early age before weaning.