Survival Analysis of Child Mortality in Kenya: An Analysis of 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Data

Kenya is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries that experience the highest risk of children dying before reaching the age of five years. The effects of demographic, environmental, and socio-economic factors play a significant role in under-5 mortality (U5CM). The study aimed to determine the risk factors of under-5 child mortality in Kenya. In an attempt to determine the risk factors of under-5 mortality, survival analysis using both Kaplan-Meier and Cox hazard methods of live births within the Kenyan population based on the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) data was adopted. All children born in the period between 2009 and 2014 (n=83,591) were included in the study. The outcome variable was the all-cause under-5 mortality. Within the observation period, a total of 6,123 child deaths were recorded. The under-5 mortality rate in Kenya is strongly associated with the mother's education, region, place of residence, preceding birth interval, birth order, the total number of children ever born, mother's occupation, and type of toilet facility. The results indicated that a child born in Nyanza is twice more likely to die than that born in the Central region of Kenya. Male children have a higher risk of dying before the age of five than their female counterparts. The risk of experiencing U5CM increased among children born in rural areas compared to those born in urban areas. In summary, the study suggests that under-five child mortality is still a problem in Kenya. The government and implementing partners should allocate resources towards maternal and child healthcare, and implement interventions on women empowerment, and scale up health education among mothers. Both national and county governments should allocate resources to ensure access and use of modern contraceptives to improve child spacing. There is a need for the central government to implement socio-economic development interventions that reduce regional disparities .