Socioeconomic Status and Child Health in North Central Nigeria: Mediating Roles of Policy Interventions and Practices

Abstract

 This study investigates the socioeconomic and health-related determinants of infant mortality and malaria occurrences among households in North Central Nigeria. Using stepwise logistic regressions on a sample of 539 households, the study examines the mediating effect of policy intervention and practices on the relationship between socioeconomic status and child health. The results reveal that household income consistently reduces both malaria incidence and infant mortality, highlighting the protective role of economic resources in improving living conditions and access to preventive measures. Maternal income significantly lowers malaria risk, while paternal education strongly reduces infant mortality, suggesting that household and parental human capital are critical determinants of child health outcomes. Sleeping under insecticidetreated mosquito nets significantly reduces both malaria incidence and infant mortality, whereas exclusive breastfeeding markedly decreases infant mortality but has no significant effect on malaria risk. Maternal occupation is positively associated with malaria, indicating occupational exposure, while paternal occupation increases infant mortality in models accounting for behavioural controls. Immunisation shows no significant effect on malaria and a weakly positive association with infant mortality, likely reflecting reverse causality or targeted vaccination of highrisk children. The findings underscore that child health outcomes are shaped by the interplay of socioeconomic resources, parental human capital and household health practices. Effective policy interventions should combine economic empowerment, parental education, promotion of preventive behaviours such as bed-net use and breastfeeding and targeted support for households at greater occupational or environmental risk, to simultaneously reduce malaria burden and improve infant survival.