Regional socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity as predictors of regional infant mortality rate in Slovakia.
OBJECTIVE
Exploring the associations of regional differences in infant mortality with selected socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity could offer important clues for designing public health policy measures.


METHODS
Data included perinatal and infant mortality in the 79 districts of the Slovak population in 2004. Linear regression was used to analyse the contribution of education, unemployment, income and proportion of Roma population on regional differences in perinatal and infant mortality rates.


RESULTS
All the explored socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity individually contributed significantly to both perinatal and infant mortality, with the exception of income. In the model exploring the influence of all these variables together on perinatal and infant mortality, only the effect of the proportion of Roma population remained significant. This model explained 34.9% of the variance for perinatal and 36.4% of the variance for infant mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Living in Roma settlements indicates an accumulation of socioeconomic disadvantage. Health literacy, health-related behaviour and many other factors might contribute to the explanation of the differences in infant mortality, and a better understanding of these processes might help us to design tailored interventions.
Rosicova
Katarina
K
Kosice Self-Governing Region, Department of Regional Development and Land-Use Planning, Kosice, Slovakia. katarina.rosicova@vucke.sk
Madarasova Geckova
Andrea
A
van Dijk
Jitse P
JP
Kollarova
Jana
J
Rosic
Martin
M
Groothoff
Johan W
JW
D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000208:ethnology / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D006178:Romani People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data