Published in IIPS Mumbai, ENVIS center, Volume 2, No. 3, September 2005

 

Influence of Environmental Factors on Child Survival

Prof. C.P. Prakasam1 and Dr. M. Banarji Prasad2

INTRODUCTION:

 

It has been observed that household environmental factors are more influencing on mother and child health. Better cooking facilities, availability of water at house, better sanitation facilities may lead to better living condition and intern may lead to better health. Research study done in Mewat region of Haryana state by Jatrana S:(2001) revealed that type of house and the presence of separate kitchen in the house significantly affect infant survival. Further in this study presence of latrine, ownership of land and education of father and mother could not show a significant effect on infant survival. Another research study done in Nepal (Gubhaju B et.al.1991) by examining Nepal Fertility survey data shows that probability of dying among infant was 44 percent higher for those drinking lake or river water than those using piped or tube well water. In this study it has been observed that those households not having a toilet facilities had 64 percent higher probability of infant dying than those with their own toilet facilities. Study done in Bangladesh (Majumder AK; Islam SM  1993, Hoque BA et, al., 1999) by using Matlab data show that house hold environmental facilities and mother’s education affect infant survival. Vinod Mishra et, al; (1997) by analyzing NFHS-1 data showed that persons living in households that primarily use biomass for cooking fuel have a considerably higher prevalence of active tuberculosis than persons living in households that use clean fuels. This effect is reduced when availability of a separate kitchen, house type, indoor crowding, age, etc.

 

It is a fact that measurement of household environmental factors influencing child survival is a complex phenomenon. The variables differs by different societies, geographical areas and by caste, religion of the household belongs. However, a broader category of variables, which are derived from a large survey viz: NFHS-2 forms the base for analysis of this study. Keeping in view of the above research studies and the data set the study aims:

 

1. To examine the household socioeconomic and environmental, sanitary and child survival variables in tribal household in Chattisgarh.

 

2. To know the influence of environmental, sanitary variables influencing the child survival in Chattisgarh.

 

DATA AND METHODOLOGY:

 

Data for the present study has been drawn from National Family Health Survey (NFHS2) conducted during 1998-99. The lists of variables considered for analysis has been listed in Table 1.The set of variables have been divided in to two categories. First category is referred to indirect indicators viz: Age of women, Current marital status, education of women, type of place of residence, husband’s education, and work status of women. The second category is referred as direct indicators viz:

 

Availability of electricity in the house, source of drinking water, time to get drinking water, method of drinking water purification, type of toilet facility, main type of fuel used for cooking, type of house, SLI (standard living index). The dependent variable child survival has been measured by considering the ratio of children ever born to children surviving. If this child survival index is equal to one indicates that the number of deliveries and surviving children are equal and it the index is less than one indicates that women had experienced child loss in her reproductive period. A composite index has been calculated for Environmental factors. Score for Environmental  (ENV index) and Sanitation index (SAN index) has been given in table 1. The analysis has been done by SC, ST and others to known the influence of Environmental and Sanitation factors on Child Survival.

 

* 1. Professor, Department of Public Health & Mortality, 2. Research Officer, International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai-400 088

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESULTS: 

 The percentage distribution of SC, ST and others study women according to socio-economic variables have been listed in Table 2. It shows that Age, and marital status wise percent women found to be same in SC,ST and other caste in Chhattisgarh. Percentage illiterate women found to be more in ST, followed by SC and other caste (Table 2). More than 50 percent of women belongs to ST showed that the survival ratio less than one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The percent women with household environmental factors, sanitation factors, type of house and SLI for SC, ST and other Caste have been given in Table 3: shows that nearly 50% of household were using well water and around 43% piped water facilities as source of drinking water. Nearly 68% of SC and 64% of ST population and 96.7% ST population are not having toilet facilities at household level. Majority of SC and ST population of Chhattisgarh are living semi pucca houses and Standard of Living Index was less than medium (Table 3)

 

To understand the association between direct and indirect variable with caste. “Chi-square” test has been applied. The results are shown in Table 4. Caste (SC/ST and others) had significant association with the environmental, sanitation and literacy variable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*P<.05, **P<.001

 

 

RESULTS BASED ON LOGIT REGRESSION ANALYSIS :

To understand Environmental, Sanitation and background variables are influencing SC, ST and other population Logit regression analysis has been used.Regression results shows (Table 5) that better household environmental factors, husband literate and working status of child among scheduled caste population. In the case of scheduled tribe population it has been observed (table 5) that household having medium and above index value, husband’s literacy and working status of women found to influence child survival. However environmental factors and sanitation factors has shown any influence on child survival among scheduled tribe population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man and Machine find their way through the flooded streets in Mumbai

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5: Logit Regression Analysis of Household Environment, Sanitation and explanatory variables influencing Child Survival in Chhattisgarh. NFHS-2

 

 

*P<.01

CONCLUSIONS:

 

In this study by considering household environmental factors, sanitation facilities, women literacy,husband’s literacy, SLI has been considered to know the influence on child survival by different caste in chhattisgarh. It has been observed that having better environmental factor, work status of women and husband literacy had influence on child survival status among scheduled caste population than other set of population.

 

REFERENCE

 

1.Gubhaju B; Streatfield K; Majumder AK: (1991): “Socioeconomic, demographic and environmental determinants of infant mortality in Nepal”, Journal of Biosocial Science. Oct; 23(4): 425-435

 

2.Hoque BA; Chakraborty J; Chowdhury JT; Chowdhury UK; Ali M; El Arifeen S; Sack RB (1999): “Effects of environmental factors on child survival in Bangladesh: a case  control study”. Public Health. Mar; 113(2): 57-64

 

3. Jatrana S (2001): “Household environmental factors and their effects on infant mortality in Mewat region of Haryana state”, Demography India  Jan-Jun, 30(1): 31-47

 

4. Majumder AK; Islam SM : (1993) Socio economic and environmental determinants of child survival in Bangladesh. Journal of Biosocial Science. Jul;25(3):311-318.

 

5. Vinod Mishra, Robert D. Retherford, Kirk .Smith (1997) “Effects of Cooking Smoke on Prevalence of Tuberculosis in India”, East-West Centre Working Paper, Population Series No.92, October 1997

 

Mumbai had barely begun its trek to normalcy when a fresh bout of rain on July 31 made things worse.

Life in Mumbai was overturned in the matter of 24 hrs.