title: Socioeconomic Determinants of Adult Mortality in Namibia Using an Event History Analysis.
abstract: Adult mortality remains a neglected public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, with most policy instruments concentrated on child and maternal health. In developed countries, adult mortality is negatively associated with socioeconomic factors. A similar pattern is expected in developing countries, but has not been extensively demonstrated, because of dearth of data. Understanding the hazard and factors associated with adult mortality is crucial for informing policies and for implementation of interventions aimed at improving adult survival. This paper applied a geo-additive survival model to elucidate effects of socioeconomic factors on adult mortality in Namibia, controlling for spatial frailties. Results show a clear disadvantage for adults in rural areas, for those not married and from poor households or in female-headed households. The hazard of adult mortality was highly variable with a 1.5-fold difference between areas, with highest hazard recorded in north eastern, central west and southern west parts of the country. The analysis emphasizes that, for Namibia to achieve its national development goals, targeted interventions should be aimed at poor-resourced adults, particularly in high-risk areas.
authors.affiliation: Namibia Statistics Agency, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kandjimbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Population Studies, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Ndeyapo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nickanor
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Population Studies, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors.forename: Lawrence N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Kazembe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D003906:Developing Countries; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D009276:Namibia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D016019:Survival Analysis