Mortality patterns in a rural Kenyan community.
Causes of death of 239 children below the age of 5 years in a rural community were determined using structured questionnaires. It was found that mortality was highest in infancy, accounting for 63% of all deaths with a trend of decreasing mortality with increasing age. The commonest cause of death was ARI (pneumonia and measles) accounting for 49% of the deaths, followed by diarrhoeal illnesses (8.8%). Only half of the deaths (51.5%) occurred at some health facility, though 77% of all children had been taken to a health facility for treatment during the fatal illness.
Mirza
N M
NM
Department of Paediatrics, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi.
Macharia
W M
WM
Wafula
E M
EM
Agwanda
R
R
Onyango
F E
FE
D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires