Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

6418

Date

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Sociology

Committee Chair

Wesley James

Committee Member

Joseph Lariscy

Committee Member

SunAh Laybourn

Abstract

Infant mortality rates (IMRs) are considered to be one of the most important indicators of a healthy society and a key marker of maternal and child health. In the United States, progress has been made in reducing the overall infant mortality rate, but this reduced aggregated rate masks significant racial disparities. The objective of this study is to systematically examine racial differences in a number of social determinants of infant mortality at the county-level, specifically differences between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White populations. Multivariate OLS regression modeling is used to analyze the association between the demographic, economic, and health predictor variables and IMRs. The results show that while there are marked differences in the predictors of Black and white IMRs, there are also remarkable similarities. Median household incomes and numbers of practicing midwives are found to be two of the significant factors in reducing infant mortality rates for both groups.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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