Determinants of nutrition and health status: analyzing the mortality rate of children aged 1 to 4 using panel data

Gabriel Angelo T. Basquina
Ana Francine M. Villareal

Abstract/Summary

Reducing mortality has been a primary goal of most developing countries such as the Philippines. Mortality rate is the percentage of deaths occurring at a certain time, and infant mortality, maternal mortality, and child mortality are some of its types. Infant mortality is the number of deaths of under-one year old children maternal mortality is the number of women who died during pregnancy and child mortality is the number of children who died between the age of one and four (MedicineNet, 2016)

The nutrition and health of a mother greatly affects the child’s nutrition during pregnancy and their infancy (Barker, 1997). In this study, panel data analysis is conducted to analyze the change in child mortality over time and its possible determinants. The cross-sectional component for the study is the regions of the Philippines and the years 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 are the time components. This provides better statistical results rather than cross-sectional data alone or time-series data alone. The results will also serve as an aid to the policymakers, local communities, students, and parents. Keywords: Child Mortality Rate, Panel Data Analysis, Fixed Effects