Factors influencing child health in backward districts of West Bengal using panel regression on NFHS data

Abstract

Health disparities among different Indian states and their districts are pronounced, highlighting the need for detailed, region-specific studies. Particularly, the backward regions often suffer from a dearth of medical infrastructure and skilled healthcare professionals, leading to a significant disparity in health results. The concentration of this paper is primarily on the health condition, particularly focussing on backward districts about the child health status of West Bengal. through construction of composite child health index employing entropy method using NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 data. It aimed at the examination of child health whether improved during 2019-21 compared to four years back i.e. 2015-16. Another objective is to explore the factors encouraging child health which has been done using fixed effect panel regression. The result of the analysis suggests inter district disparity in Child health improvement in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16. The lagging districts turned out to be Bankura, Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Kooch Bihar, Maldah, and Purulia. Households who can avail electricity, better drinking water, upgraded sanitation system, unpolluted fuel for cooking, iodized salt in the diet, protected by a health insurance scheme and access to a greater number of district hospitals can keep children with better health condition.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Discover Public Health, 2026 · DOI ↗