1Department of Community Health & Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria
2Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
American Journal of Public Health Research.
2018,
Vol. 6 No. 1, 4-10
DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-6-1-2
Copyright © 2018 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: Bolaji Samson Aregbeshola, Samina Mohsin Khan. The Relationship between Health Facility-based Delivery and Child Mortality in Nigeria: Insights from 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2018; 6(1):4-10. doi: 10.12691/ajphr-6-1-2.
Correspondence to: Bolaji Samson Aregbeshola, Department of Community Health & Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria. Email:
bolajiaregbeshola74@gmail.comAbstract
Background: Health facility-based delivery has been considered to be an important factor in reducing maternal and child deaths. Evidence suggests that 63 per cent of women aged 15-49 years deliver at home. This study seeks to examine the effect of health facility-based delivery on child mortality in Nigeria. Methods: Secondary data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey was used. Variables on place of delivery as well as demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the study sample were analysed. Data analysis was carried out using STATA 12. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Results showed that health facility-based delivery was not significantly associated with child mortality. However, being a child of women aged 25-34 years, being a child of women aged 35 years or older, being a child of a woman with secondary or higher education, being a child of a woman living in rural area, being a child of a woman living in North West region, being a child of a woman living in South East region, being a child of a married woman, being a child of a woman with more than five members, being a child of a woman with 2-4 birth order, being a child of a woman with five or more birth order, being a child of a woman with 3 and 4 children and being a child of a woman with five or more children were significantly associated with child mortality. Conclusions: Our study concludes that health facility-based delivery is not a significant predictor of child mortality in Nigeria. However, demographic and socio-economic factors were significantly associated with child mortality. Therefore, policy makers need to target these factors in their effort to reduce child mortality.
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