School-Age Child Mortality: The Impact of Women's Autonomy and Household Characteristics

  • M. Dharma Nauval Public Health, University of Muhammadiyah Aceh
  • Asnawi Abdullah Public Health Faculty University of Muhammadiyah Aceh
  • Nopa Arlianti Public Health Faculty University of Muhammadiyah Aceh
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56338/mppki.v7i8.6000
Keywords: School-Age Child Mortality, Women's Autonomy, Household Characteristics, Age at First Marriage, Mother's and Father’s Occupation Status

Abstract

Introduction: Child mortality is a crucial indicator for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 and the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024 in healthcare. It reflects advancements in health and human capital, with SDG targets aiming for a neonatal mortality rate of 12 per 1,000 live births by 2030, and RPJMN targeting a child mortality rate of 16 per 1,000 live births by 2024. School-age (5-9 years) and adolescent (10-18 years) stages are critical for education and character development, where parental roles, especially women's autonomy in decision-making regarding family and education, are essential for ensuring health and well-being.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of women's autonomy, household wealth, residential area, parental occupations, and age at marriage on school-age child mortality.

Method: This study uses a quantitative cross-sectional design with secondary data from the 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS). The sample includes 37,246 mothers of children aged 6 to 18 years. Inclusion criteria were mothers whose last child died between ages 6 and 18, who were married and living with their spouse, and who knew their age at first marriage. Exclusion criteria were women under 15 or over 49 years, deaths outside the specified age range, women unaware of their marriage age, and those who were divorced or widowed. Data were analyzed using bivariate logistic regression and multivariate stepwise regression to evaluate the effects of women's autonomy, household wealth, residential area, parental occupations, and age at marriage on school-age child mortality.

Result: The results of the bivariate analysis indicate significant associations between women's autonomy (P=0.022; OR=0.92), age at first marriage (P=0.0001; OR=1.8), father’s occupation (P=0.0001; OR=1.4), and residential area (P=0.0001; OR=1.5) with school-age child mortality. No significant relationship was found between maternal occupation (P=0.122; OR=0.95) and household wealth status (P=0.459; OR=0.98) with school-age child mortality. The multivariate stepwise analysis confirmed that women's autonomy, age at first marriage, father’s occupation, and residential area remained significant factors.

Conclusion: The study underscores the importance of empowering women, raising awareness about early marriage, and implementing economic interventions to reduce school-age child mortality. Additionally, it recommends further research on women's autonomy, including supportive and obstructive factors, to deepen understanding in this area. Such research can aid in developing more holistic policies and interventions.

References

Kemenkes RI. Permenkes RI Nomor 21 Tahun 2020 tentang Rencana Strategis Kementerian Kesehatan Tahun 2020-2024. Kementerian Kesehatan RI; 2020. Available from: https://www.slideshare.net/maryamkazemi3/stability-of-colloids%0Ahttps://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for_spss.pdf%0Ahttp://www.ibm.com/support%0Ahttp://www.spss.com/sites/dm-book/legacy/ProgDataMgmt_SPSS17.pdf%0Ahttps://www.n

UNICEF. Progress for Every Child in the SDG Era 2020 - UNICEF DATA. UNICEF DATA; 2020. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/resources/progress-for-every-child-in-the-sdg-era-2020-temp/

Kemenkes. Usia Anak (Kelompok Usia). Kementrian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia; 2023. Available from: https://ayosehat.kemkes.go.id/kategori-usia/anak-anak

WHO. Older children and young adolescent mortality (5 to 14 years). World Health Organization; 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/older-children-and-young-adolescent-mortality-(5-to-14-years)

Urbina DR. Mass education and women’s autonomy: Evidence from Latin America. Demography. 2022;59(3):1195–1209. doi: 10.1215/00703370-9983381.

UN IGME. Levels & trends in child mortality: Report 2022. Estimates developed by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. United Nations Children’s Fund; 2023. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/resources/levels-and-trends-in-child-mortality/

Sisilia N. Studi jumlah anak yang diinginkan dalam perspektif makro sosio-ekonomi di Indonesia. Jurnal Kependudukan Indonesia. 2019;14(2):105–118.

Taukobong HFG, Kincaid MM, Levy JK, Bloom SS, Platt JL, Henry SK, et al. Does addressing gender inequalities and empowering women and girls improve health and development programme outcomes? Health Policy and Planning. 2016;31(10):1492–1504. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czw074.

Saaka M. Women’s decision-making autonomy and its relationship with child feeding practices and postnatal growth. Journal of Nutritional Science. 2020;9. doi: 10.1017/jns.2020.30.

Doku DT, Bhutta ZA, Neupane S. Associations of women’s empowerment with neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality in low- and middle-income countries: meta-analysis of individual participant data from 59 countries. BMJ Global Health. 2020;5(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001558.

Nabila R, Roswiyani R, Satyadi H. A literature review of factors influencing early marriage decisions in Indonesia. Proceedings of the 3rd Tarumanagara International Conference on the Applications of Social Sciences and Humanities (TICASH 2021). 2022;655(Ticash 2021):1392–1402. doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.220404.223.

Balaj M, York HW, Sripada K, et al. Parental education and inequalities in child mortality: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2021;398(10300):608–620. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00534-1.

Moradhvaj, Samir KC. Differential impact of maternal education on under-five mortality in rural and urban India. Health & Place. 2023;80:102987. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.102987.

Published
2024-08-31
How to Cite
Nauval, M. D., Asnawi Abdullah, & Nopa Arlianti. (2024). School-Age Child Mortality: The Impact of Women’s Autonomy and Household Characteristics . Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia (MPPKI), 7(8), 2250-2259. https://doi.org/10.56338/mppki.v7i8.6000
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 8: AUGUST 2024 - Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia (MPPKI)
Section
Research Article

Copyright (c) 2024 Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia (MPPKI)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy retain the copyright of their work. The journal applies a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which grants the following rights:

  1. Copyright Retention: Authors retain the copyright of their work, maintaining full control over their intellectual property without restrictions.

  2. Right of First Publication: Authors grant the journal the right of first publication of their work. This ensures that the work is initially published and credited in Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy.

  3. License to Share and Reuse: The work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, allowing others to copy, distribute, remix, and build upon the work for any purpose, even commercially, as long as proper credit is given to the authors, and any new creations are licensed under the same terms.