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Contribution of household environment factors to urban Childhood mortality in Mozambique


G Macassa
G Ghilagaber
E Bernhardt
B Burstrom

Abstract

Objectives: Household environment factors are known to be associated with child mortality in urban and rural areas of many developing countries. In Mozambique, no study to date has addressed this relationship. This study is aimed to access the contribution of household environment factors to urban childhood mortality in Mozambique.


Design: Retrospective follow-up study. Setting: Urban Mozambique.


Subjects: One thousand and forty eight children born in urban areas of Mozambique within five years of the 1997 Demographic and Health Survey.


Methods: Cox regression analysis was performed on a sample of 1048 children born in urban areas of Mozambique within five years of the 1997 Demographic and Health Survey.


Results: Children of mother's who lived in households with no toilet facility or with well as a source of drinking water had a high risk of dying compared to children who lived in households with flush toilet and piped water.


Conclusion: Type of toilet facility and source of drinking water play an important role in the risk of childhood mortality in urban areas of Mozambique and the relationship seems to be mediated partly by demographic and socioeconomic factors.


East African Medical Journal Vol.81(8) 2004: 408-414

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eISSN: 0012-835X