Assessing Child Health in India: Development and Validation of a Comprehensive Child Health Index

Meena Sehgal, Peraton
Santosh Jatrana, Deakin University
Louise Johnson, Deakin University
Sujit Ghosh, NC State University

Developing a child health index is particularly important in the Indian context due to a high burden of poor child health, disparities across social, economic, and geographical regions and the absence of a comprehensive index in the country. This paper focuses on the development and validation of a Child Health Index (CHI) for India. Using publicly available data at the district level and principal component analysis, this index is composed of 16 variables representing six domains namely socio-cultural, child health status, determinants of child health, household environment and health system and policy. Several statistical tests were conducted to provide internal and external validation. The application to predict child mortality confirmed its validation. This study thus provides a new tool for characterising child health and detecting child health inequalities at a district level in India. Consequently, it can be used by policymakers, health service providers and other stakeholders involved in child welfare to monitor and improve child health over time and space

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Population and Development, Population Policies, Small area estimation

See paper.