Determination of Factors Associated with High Risk of Infant Mortality in Ethiopia
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Date
2011-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopia has the highest rate of infant deaths in Eastern and Southern Africa. This study
addresses important issues concerning infant mortality in Ethiopia. The objective of the paper is
to determine the impact of socioeconomic, demographic and environmental variables on infant
mortality. The data for this study were obtained from the demographic and health survey (DHS)
conducted in Ethiopia 2005. The results of Kaplan-Meier estimation show that most of the deaths
occurred in the earlier month from birth to one month and then after death declined in the later
months. The Cox proportional regression model was fitted to select the significant factors
affecting infant mortality in Ethiopia. The model considered provided good fit for the data.
Based on the result of the Cox proportional regression model, infant mortality was significantly
associated with breast status, mother age at birth, mother's education, birth order, source of
drinking water and sex (p < 0.05). This study supports health policy initiatives to stimulate use of
family planning methods to increase birth spacing. It is hoped that, the results could be used by
policy makers and programme managers in the c,h ,. i ld health sector to formulate appropriate
strategies to improve the situation of infants in Ethiopia,
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Determination of Factors Associated with High Risk