Predictors of Child’s Health in Pakistan and the Moderating Role of Birth Spacing

Muhammad Farhan Asif, Salima Meherali, Ghulam Abid, Muhammad Safdar Khan and Zohra S. Lassi
Additional contact information
Muhammad Farhan Asif: Department of Economics, National College of Business Administration and Economics, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Salima Meherali: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G, Canada
Ghulam Abid: Department of Business Studies, Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Muhammad Safdar Khan: Department of Urology, King Edward Medical University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Zohra S. Lassi: Robinson Research Institute, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: There is a consensus that better health should be viewed both as a means and an end to achieve development. The level of development should be judged by the health status of the population and the fair distribution of health services across the people. Many determinants affect a child’s health. This study aimed to explore a child’s health predictors and the moderating role of birth spacing on the association between mother’s health care services utilization (MHCSU) and a child’s health. In this study, we used the dataset of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 to explore the predictors of child health and the moderating role of birth spacing through binary logistic regression, using SPSS version 20. The results showed an association of mother’s age (35 to 49 years), her education (at least secondary), health care services (more accessible), father’s education (at least secondary), their wealth status (high), and exposure to mass media to improved child health. However, the effect of a mother’s employment status (employed) on her child’s health is significant and negative. The coefficient of moderation term indicated that the moderating role of birth spacing on the association between MHCSU and a child’s health is positive. We conclude that birth spacing is a strong predictor for improving a child’s health. The association between MHCSU and child’s health is more distinct and positive when the birth spacing is at least 33 months.

Keywords: role of birth spacing; mother’s health care services utilization; predictors of child’s health; Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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