Fatalism or vigilance? Exposure to infant and maternal deaths and subsequent use of maternal health services in Malawi

In developing contexts, where formal health services are still expanding, understanding what factors discourage individuals from using health services is critical to advance population health. A long theorized, but rarely investigated, conjecture is that in high-mortality contexts, exposure to death...

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Veröffentlicht in:World development. - 1999. - 185(2024) vom: 21. Jan.
1. Verfasser: Lungu, Eric (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Rozelle, Jeffrey, Smith-Greenaway, Emily
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:World development
Schlagworte:Journal Article Bereavement Health service use Infant mortality Loss Maternal mortality Reproductive health
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520 |a In developing contexts, where formal health services are still expanding, understanding what factors discourage individuals from using health services is critical to advance population health. A long theorized, but rarely investigated, conjecture is that in high-mortality contexts, exposure to death can beget fatalism, or even foster distrust of formal healthcare, locking families into cycles of low use of health services. A counter perspective, however, suggests exposure to death can encourage individuals' health vigilance, corresponding with their higher use of health services. We test these competing ideas by analyzing the associations between women's intimate exposure to death in the context of pregnancy and delivery via (1) a sister's maternal death and (2) an infant child's neonatal death, and their subsequent use of maternal health services. We focus on the context of Malawi, a setting that features high maternal and infant mortality rates, similar to those observed across much of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as persistent gaps in service use. Specifically, we use Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (2015-16) data to examine if a sister's maternal death or a child's neonatal death corresponds with a woman's odds of attending full antenatal care during a subsequent pregnancy or delivering the pregnancy at a formal health facility. Given the qualitatively distinct nature of losing one's only or first child, we also assess if the effect of a child's neonatal death varies by birth order. The results show that maternal and neonate death exposures correspond generally with women's higher use of maternal health services, challenging the notion that exposure to death fosters fatalism or distrust. Although the results vary in significance, the nuanced findings highlight women's vigilance in the face of health threats, emphasizing their resilience amid a high burden of familial loss 
650 4 |a Journal Article 
650 4 |a Bereavement 
650 4 |a Health service use 
650 4 |a Infant mortality 
650 4 |a Loss 
650 4 |a Maternal mortality 
650 4 |a Reproductive health 
700 1 |a Rozelle, Jeffrey  |e verfasserin  |4 aut 
700 1 |a Smith-Greenaway, Emily  |e verfasserin  |4 aut 
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856 4 0 |u http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106795  |3 Volltext 
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