Factors Associated With Infant Deaths In Rural Ghana, 1998 To 2014

ABSTRACT Infant mortality rates in less developed countries are still high. Over the years in Ghana, successive governments have implemented policies and programs that have resulted in a decline in the infant mortality rate, especially in the rural areas. This study examined the factors associated with infant death among rural residents of Ghana, using data from the last four rounds (1998, 2003, 2008 and 2014) of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). A comparative method was used, pooling the child files for the 1998 and 2003 datasets into Period One and 2008 and 2014 GDHS into Period Two. The sample consisted of all births within the five years prior to the various surveys. In Period One, a sample of 5,349 singleton births was selected with 341 deaths occurring at the infant stage of life. Period Two, on the other hand, had 5,425 singleton births with 245 deaths occurring at the infant stage of life. For both periods, the information was collected from women in their reproductive ages of 15 to 49 years. Three levels of analyses were carried out. Univariate analysis was used to describe the background characteristics of the respondents. At the bivariate stage, associations were examined between infant death and the selected independent variables while binary logistic regression was employed at the multivariate stage of analysis. The results showed that at Period One, preceding birth interval, antenatal care visits, place of delivery, birth size and presence of toilet facility were statistically significantly related to infant death. However, in Period Two, religion, antenatal care visits and birth size were statistically significantly associated with infant death. The study therefore recommends that policymakers and programmers should intensify door to door sensitization of pregnant women on the importance of antenatal care and good and balanced nutrition for their health and that of their unborn child. This will reduce infant death as a result of small birth size and lack of antenatal care.