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NAVRONGO HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE A Field station of the Ministry of Health, Ghana (Member of the INDEPTH Network)
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Location
:Navrongo - Ghana
Investigators :F. N. Binka, G.H. Maude, M. Gyapong, D.A. Ross, P.G. Smith
Collaboration :Navrongo Health Research Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Funding :IDRC Canada
Period Covered:1995
The study was carried out to investigate potential risk factors for post-neonatal and child mortality in northern Ghana where child survival rates are among the lowest in Africa
The Vitamin A trial provided a framework in which to investigate other risk factors for infant and child deaths against which interventions might be implemented. To this end, a matched case-control study was conducted selecting both cases of infant and child deaths and controls from the cohort of children under demographic surveillance. A wide range of social, economic and environmental factors were compared in cases and controls.
The child mortality rate for children aged 6 months to 4 years was 23.9/1000 children/year. An increased risk of death was observed where the delivery was not performed by a trained person (OR = 1.8, 95% CI; 1.0-3.2), if the preceding birth interval was less than 24 months (OR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.1- 3.9), if the father beats the child’s mother (OR = 4.3, 95% CI 1.2-15.6), if water source was unprotected (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0- 2.7). No association was found between weaning practices, parental education, or any of the socioeconomic or hygiene variables considered.