This study examines the effects of various factors on diarrhea morbidity and mortality among infants/children in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. These factors have been grouped into two sets of variables: Those associated with the child's background and the environment in which it is living, and identified as background variables and those associated with the child per se, and identified as proximate variables. / Breaking from traditional approaches that focus on either death or disease processes, and examines the effects of either background or proximate variables, this dissertation, based on a conceptual framework developed by Mosley and Chen (1984), attempts to integrate the study of both morbidity and mortality by assessing the effects of both types of variables and focusing on the "survival process." / The data used for this study were recorded longitudinally by following a cohort of 8,491 births for the first twenty-four months of life. Therefore, event history techniques are used for analysis. Relationships are estimated between independent and dependent variables, through four logistic regression models. As a complement, qualitative data based on interviews of a sub-sample of 76 mothers are also analyzed. / The findings suggest, first, that both types of variables exhibit significant links to morbidity and mortality. Interestingly, these variables are differently related to these two phenomena. This implies that morbidity and mortality are related to different processes captured by the same variables. Second, reporting of morbidity events and selectivity in going to health centers among mothers seemed to be a problem in the study area. This suggests that the understanding of the implications of childhood diseases is not the same for all mothers. Third, it seems that the framework developed for this study is an improvement over that of Mosley and Chen because it is simpler and uses variables that are straightforward and easily measurable in LDCs. Furthermore, the results support the findings of past research on childhood survival and suggest new orientations for research and policy. Finally, the analysis of the qualitative data implies that there are traditional beliefs regarding childhood illnesses and treatment in the study area. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3222. / Major Professor: Isaac W. Eberstein. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76993 |
| Contributors | Nacro, Kourtoum., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 186 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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