Factors associated with child health in urban areas of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the few developing countries that has been experiencing rapid urbanization. The paper examined the factors associated with infant mortality in urban area and health seeking behavior of the urban children. This study used data from the Bangladesh Urban and Health Survey 2006. Households’ socioeconomic status was measured using principal component analysis. Both descriptive and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the infant mortality differential of slum and non-slum areas. Infant mortality was astonishingly higher among the slum dwellers than among non-slum dwellers. The rich-poor gap in infant mortality is also significant. The prevalence of acute respiratory infection among the slum and non-slum children within two weeks preceding the survey was 14.3 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. In slum communities, children were 27 percent less likely to be taken to health facilities for treatment than non-slum communities. Wealth, migration status and the mother’s education are identified as important correlates of infant mortality. The findings of this study reveal that there are large differences in infant mortality rates between slum and non-slum urban areas. It will be difficult to achieve Millennium Development Goals if the government ignored the health care need of the urban poor.