Intervention Projects and the Study of Socioeconomic Determinants of Mortality

Much of the evidence on the relationship of social, economic, and cultural factors to child mortality in developing countries comes from analyses of surveys, vital statistics, and censuses.1 A central finding of these studies has been the importance of maternal, and sometimes paternal, education in reducing a child's risk of dying, even when other socioeconomic and environmental variables are held constant. This result suggests that a welleducated mother may care for her child differently than a more poorly educated mother, even if both have the same economic resources. Higher income or occupational status, better housing conditions, and longer child spacing have also been shown to be related to lower child mortality. These studies have been valuable in documenting the magnitudes of mortality differentials and in disentangling the relative importance of various socioeconomic variables in explaining child mortality. They have been less successful in determining the mechanisms through which these factors affect mortality. The conclusion that maternal education or longer child spacing reduces child mortality, for example, poses more questions than it answers. Is maternal education associated with lower child mortality because more educated women distribute food differently within the family, are more likely to seek medical care for a sick child, live under more sanitary conditions, or are more likely to follow sanitary practices, such as hand washing? Caldwell (1979) suggests that education changes a woman's position within her family, giving her more control over resources that she can use to care for her children. But how do more educated women use this greater control, and which of their actions are most effective? One reason for the limited scope of current demographic and social research on mortality is the lack of a theoretical framework describing the relationship between socioeconomic factors and more proximate determinants

Demographic economics · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Intervention (counseling) · Population · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Nursing

• Health Programs, Maternal Education, and Differential Child Mortality in Matlab, Bangladesh

  Pradip K Muhuri•Population and Development Review•1995

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• Birth spacing and child mortality in bangladesh and the Philippines

  Open Access•Jane Miller, Jane E Miller et al.•Demography•1992

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• A child health production function estimated from longitudinal data

  Open Access•Cebu Study Team, Cebu Study Team Cebu Study Team•Journal of Development Economics•1992

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• Illness behaviour

  Open Access•J T Young•Sociology of Health & Illness•2004

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• Reproductive Patterns and Child Mortality in Guatemala

  Anne R Pebley, Paul Stupp et al.•Studies in Family Planning•1987

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• Maternal and sociodemographic correlates of child morbidity in Bas Zaire

  Open Access•Amy O Tsui, Julia Declerque et al.•Social Science & Medicine•1988

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• Child-Spacing Effects on Infant and Early Child Mortality

  John Hobcraft, John W Mcdonald et al.•Population Index•1983

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• A hazards-Model analysis of the covariates of infant and child mortality in Sri Lanka

  Open Access•James Trussell, Charles Hammerslough et al.•Demography•1983

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• Differentials in infant and child mortality and their change over time

  Open Access•Michael R Haines, Roger C Avery et al.•Demography•1983

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• Mortality Impact of an MCH-FP Program in Matlab, Bangladesh

  Lincoln C Chen, Liang-Chia Chen et al.•Studies in Family Planning•1983

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• Co-variates of child mortality in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Pakistan

  L G Martins, LINDA G MARTIN et al.•Population Studies•1983

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• Natural Indicators of Cognitive Development

  Open Access•Sara B Nerlove, John M Roberts et al.•Ethos•1974

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• Socioeconomic Mortality Differentials in a Rural Area of Bangladesh

  Stan D''Souza, Stan D’souza et al.•Population and Development Review•1982

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• Sex Differentials in Mortality in Rural Bangladesh

  Stan D''Souza, Stan D’souza et al.•Population and Development Review•1980

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