Individual, Household and Community-Level Effects of Infant and Child Mortality in Nigeria: A Logistic Regression Approach

Abstract

Research has shown that knowledge about the determinants of childhood mortality at the individual level is not enough to address the problem because the characteristics of the environment where a child is born tend to alter individual level characteristics and thereby affect child survival. The study used data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The fact that a child was either dead or alive was assumed to be accurately recorded. Hence, logistic regression model was used to model whether a child is dead or alive with respect to the selected predictor variables. Results from the study reveal that infant and child mortality in Nigeria is determined more by individual household than by community, and that geographical variations also exist. This study has identified significant risk factors that will help policy makers to formulate policies that will improve childhood survival.