Geospatial correlations and variations in child mortality and stunting in South Africa: Evaluating distal vs
Handan Wand1, Jayajothi Moodley2, Tarylee Reddy3
1Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Kensington, 2052, New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract:
South Africa has one of the highest child mortality and stunting rates in the world. Flexible geoadditive models were used to investigate the geospatial variations in child mortality and stunting in South Africa. We used consecutive rounds of national surveys (2008-2017). The child mortality declined from 31 % to 24 % over time. Lack of medical insurance, black ethnicity, low-socioeconomic conditions, and poor housing conditions were identified as the most significant correlates of child mortality. The model predicted degrees of freedom which was estimated as 19.55 (p < 0.001), provided compelling evidence for sub-geographical level variations in child mortality which ranged from 6 % to 35 % across the country. Population level impact of the distal characteristics on child mortality and stunting exceeded that of other risk factors. Geospatial analysis can help in monitoring trends in child mortality over time and in evaluating the impact of health interventions.
Related Concept Videos
Nature and Nurture
Correlation and Causation
Correlation versus Causation
If the dependent variable increases or decreases when the independent variable increases, there is a positive or negative...
Correlations
Coefficient of Correlation
If you suspect a linear relationship between x and y, then r can measure how strong the linear relationship is.
What the VALUE of r tells us:
The value of r is always between –1 and +1: –1 ≤ r ≤ 1.
The size of the correlation r indicates the...
Regression Toward the Mean


