Regional variation in infant survival in China.

From retrospective survey reports 1985-87, the study examined the determinants of neonatal and post-neonatal survival in three provinces in China. Conditional logistic regression models were employed to estimate the effects of macro- and micro-level factors (such as socioeconomic conditions, familial relationships, as well as biosocial determinants) on the survivorship of neonatal and post-neonatal infants in China. The study yielded two findings: (1) Social changes in Chinese society had a strong positive effect on neonatal and post-neonatal survivorship; and (2) the magnitude of such social changes differed across regions which, in turn, led to the differential effects on neonatal and post-neonatal survivorship across provinces in China.