Infant mortality differentials among the tribal and non-tribal populations of Central and Eastern India

Abstract

Higher infant mortality among tribal populations in India is well-documented. However, it is rare to compare factors associated with infant mortality in tribal populations with those in non-tribal populations. In the present paper, Cox proportional hazards models were employed to examine factors influencing infant mortality in tribal and non-tribal populations in the Central and Eastern Indian states using data from the District Level Household Survey-III in [2007][2008]. Characteristics of mothers, infants, and households/communities plus a program variable reflecting the place of pregnancy registration were included in the analyses. We found that the gap in infant mortality between tribal and non-tribal populations was substantial in the early months after birth, narrowed between the fourth and eighth months, and enlarged mildly afterwards. Cox regression models show that while some factors were similarly associated with infant mortality in tribes and non-tribes, distinctive differences between tribal and non-tribal populations were striking. Sex of infants, breastfeeding with colostrum, and age of mother at birth acted similarly between tribes and non-tribes, yet factors such as state of residence, wealth, religion, place of residence, mother's education, and birth order behaved differently. The program factor was non-significant in both tribal and non-tribal populations.

Trends, patterns and predictive factors of infant and child mortality in well-performing and underperforming states of India: a secondary analysis using National Family Health Surveys

“…Similar to previous studies our results also show that female child had a higher risk of death during infancy than a male child in the poor-performing states in India 24–27. The reason of excess female infant mortality could be human intervention at different stages of life cycle.…”

Does socio-economic inequality in infant mortality still exists in India? An analysis based on National Family Health Survey 2005–06 and 2015–16

“…Previous studies about infant mortality in India either took prevalence and determinants route 4,9,11 or explained survival estimates among infants 12,17 or studied mortality clustering among infants. 18,19 We could find very limited literature that examined the contribution of different factors in explaining the inequality in infant mortality in India.…”

“…We could not verify our findings with previous studies as this study primarily focused on examining the contribution of various factors to inequality in infant mortality. However, various studies have highlighted the importance of mother's education, 25 open defecation, 10 antenatal care, 26 urban place of residence, 17 colostrum feeding, 27 and use of hygienic cooking fuel 28 in reducing the infant mortality.…”

The persistent influence of caste on under-five mortality: Factors that explain the caste-based gap in high focus Indian states

“…It has also been found that caste differences in infant and child mortality are substantially reduced when parental socioeconomic characteristics are held constant [21]. In a recent study by Ranjan et al (2016) [25], the authors concluded that the gap in infant mortality between tribal and non-tribal populations was substantial in the early months after birth, narrowed between the fourth and eighth months, and grew after that. The study by Dommaraju and colleagues (2008) [17] examined the association of caste on child mortality and maternal health care utilization in rural India.…”