Socioeconomic and community determinants of under-five mortality in the Dominican Republic: a multilevel analysis of national survey data

Background

Although the Dominican Republic has achieved considerable progress in under-five mortality (U5M) over the past decades, there still exists considerable socioeconomic and geographic inequality. Children from poorer households and disadvantaged communities continue to face disproportionately higher mortality risks. Nevertheless, research on the multilevel impact of individual- and community-level determinants on child survival in the country remains limited. We aimed to quantify the associations between individual- and community-level socioeconomic and demographic determinants and under-five mortality in the Dominican Republic, using a multilevel analytic approach applied to nationally representative survey data.