Abstract

The overall objective of this study was to establish the determinants of health status in Malawi as proxied by infant mortality. The study used individual level data from the 2004 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey to examine the primary predictors of having a child die before reaching age one. This present study chose to study infant mortality because it captures the quality of health services at a basic level where decision to seek medical care is very high and that it is regarded as the best measure of socioeconomic status of any country. The study employed a logistic regression model due to the categorical nature of the dependent variable. Both standard coefficients and marginal effects are presented and discussed, however much emphasis is placed on marginal effects. Analysis of the study shows that in Malawi preceding birth interval, birth order, child’s birth size, mother’s age at birth, place of residence, marital status of the mother, attainment of secondary education by mothers, total number of children a woman gives birth to, and place of delivery are the major determinants of infant mortality. Based on the findings of this study, a decline in fertility by reducing the proportion of higher order birth, encouraging women to practice child spacing, discouraging women under the age of 20 and over the age of 32 years from giving birth, attainment of secondary or higher education by women, encouraging women to deliver their children at any medical facility, among others, would help reduce the probability of having a child die before the age of one.

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School	: School of Law, Economics and Government
Issued Date	: 2008

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