title: Estimation of early childhood mortality using preceding birth technique in a community-based setting.
abstract: The preceding birth technique, an indirect method for estimating early childhood mortality based on ascertaining the survival of previous children, was applied in rural Ethiopia within a system of demographic surveillance. Trained community health workers acted as interviewers and transmission flow of the routine health information system was used for data reporting. Data were collected for a median 12 month period from 39 sampled villages of Ticho district in Arsi region. From 1064 mothers having at least a second birth, the proportion dead of the last birth was 0.138 (95% CI 0.117-0.150), corresponding approximately to the probability of dying between birth and age two. It approximates to an infant mortality rate of about 100 x 1000 live-births. From 974 mothers having at least a higher-order birth, the proportion dead of the second to last birth was 0.203 (95% CI 0.178-0.228), equivalent to the risk of dying between 0 and age 5. In spite of the progressive migration of the surveyed population, the process and the outcome of the study suggest that PBT may well be inserted into a primary health care information system run by trained community health workers.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Materia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mehari
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosmini
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stazi
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Damen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Miuccio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrigno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miozzo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basile
mesh_terms: D001722:Birth Order; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D015996:Survival Rate