Length of maternal schooling and children’s risk of malaria infection
Evidence from a natural experiment in Uganda
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21880974 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kazuya Masuda (0000-0003-3103-0424, Hitotsubashi University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | e001729 |
| Publication date | 2020-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | BMJ Global Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001729 |
| PMID | 32133186 |
| OpenAlex | W3007102468 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
Introduction: An estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide every year. Cross-sectional studies have reported negative association between maternal education and child malaria risks; however, no randomised trial or quasi-experimental study using a natural experiment has confirmed a causal relationship between these two factors. I used the free primary education reform in Uganda to assess the causal effects of maternal schooling on children's risk of malaria infection. Methods: Malaria biomarkers of children aged <5 years were collected from the 2009 and 2014 Uganda Malaria Indicator Surveys (n=5316). In 1997, the government eliminated tuition requirements in primary schools, which increased the educational attainment of the affected cohorts. Using exposure to the reform as an instrumental variable, I used a two-stage least squares approach to estimate the causal effects of maternal year of education on the probability that a child would contract malaria at the time of the survey. I also evaluated the cost-effectiveness of primary schooling as a malaria control intervention. Results: One extra year of maternal education reduced children's risk of malaria infection by 7.5 percentage points (p=0.057) from baseline (34.9%). The length of maternal education was also positively associated with insecticide-treated bednet usage by their children. The results were robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. Primary schooling for women was a cost-effective intervention to reduce children's malaria infection. Conclusion: Improving access to primary education could be a cost-effective measure to reduce malaria prevalence among children of educated mothers aged <5 years in malaria-endemic countries
Economic growth · Educational attainment · Environmental health · Malaria · Natural experiment · Primary education · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Malaria Research and Control · Medicine · Psychology · Immunology
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2020 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |