The dynamic role of household structure on under-5 mortality in southern and eastern sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

BACKGROUND Children are born and grow up in households, where they receive essential care, including time, socio-psychological support, and economic resources. Children’s immediate environment, captured by household structure, changes over time. OBJECTIVE We evaluate the role of dynamic household structure in the risk of child death in southern and eastern Africa. METHODS We use longitudinal data from 15 Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems between 1990 and 2016, covering almost 282,000 under-5 year olds. We analyse under-5 mortality using semi-parametric Cox models accounting for time-varying household structure (household size and household typology) and controlling for maternal characteristics.