| dc.description.abstract | This study is based on the assumption that the under-five mortality rate, in recent decades, has declined, particularly in developing countries. However, all the social strata across many countries do not seem to benefit from this reduction of mortality - and mortality remains abnormally high among children especially those from underprivileged social strata. This research is, therefore, a holistic approach to analyse and quantify the inequalities of health among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa over the last two decades (1990-2010). The research sought to investigate the trend and determinants of health inequalities of under-five years (mortality and morbidity) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1990 to 2010. An essential point has been devoted to the decomposition of effects and analysis of the contribution of the factors explaining these inequalities. The data used in the study come from Demographic and Heath Surveys (DHS) done between 1990 and 2015 in sub-Saharan Africa countries. In order to analyse the inequalities in trends
of mortality and morbidity of children, different selected countries that have conducted at least three DHS during the 1990-2010 period. Several statistical methods were used for data analysis. There were four chapters which is prepared with an article style. For the first paper titled "Decomposing Inequalities in Under-
Five Mortality in Selected African Countries", concentration index (CI) and Generalised Linear Model (GLM) with a logit link were used to analyse and measure under 5 mortality inequalities and the associated factors. This paper has been published in the Iranian Journal of Public Health. For the second paper titled "Determinants of Under-Five Mortality in Burkina Faso: A Concentration Dimension". The study used logistics regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method for the binary outcome to analyse data was involved. For data analysis
of the third paper titled "Women Education, Health Inequalities in Under-Five Mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, 1990 – 2013", logistic regression and Bius's decomposition method were used to examine the effect of mother's education level on childhood mortality. In the fourth paper titled "Trends and Risk Factors for Childhood Diarrheal in sub-Saharan Countries (1990-2010): Assessing the Neighbourhood Inequalities", a multilevel logistic regression modelling was used to determine the fixed and random effects of the risk factors associated with the diarrheal morbidity. The work carried out during this on-going thesis helps to understand the magnitude of inequalities in under-five mortality in sub-Saharan countries. The findings showed that the contributing factors of inequalities of child mortality were birth order, maternal age, parity and household size. With regards to the relationship between mother's education level and inequalities in mortality of children under-five in sub-Saharan Africa, findings showed that children of mothers who did not attend school have a higher rate of death compared to those who had been to school. However, we have observed that the inequalities have narrowed over time. The results showed the risk factors of diarrheal morbidity varied from one country to another, but the main factors included: child's age, the size of the child at birth, the quality of the main floor material, mother's education and her occupation, type of toilet, and place of residence. In conclusion, the results of this study show that inequalities in under-five mortality are still important among different social strata in sub-Saharan Africa countries. It is then urgent to take actions to save the lives of children in disadvantaged social strata. | en_US |
