ArticleJournal of public health in Africa2026
Decomposing low birth weight inequality in Lesotho: A distributional analysis using hybrid Fairlie and recentred influence function methods on multiple indicator cluster survey 2018.
Article in Journal of public health in Africa, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is a major public health concern in Lesotho, linked to higher infant mortality, long-term morbidity and intergenerational poverty. Despite expanded maternal and child health services, socio-economic disparities in birth outcomes persist. Aim: This study investigates the drivers of LBW inequality, quantifying and decomposing socio-economic and geographic disparities to inform equity-oriented health policy. Setting: The study used nationally representative data from the 2018 Lesotho Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, covering all 10 districts. Methods: A hybrid econometric framework was applied. Low birth weight inequality was first assessed by using the Concentration Index (CI), Erreygers Index (EI) and Wagstaff Index (WI). Fairlie decomposition was then used to compare LBW probabilities between poor vs. rich and rural vs. urban households. Finally, recentred influence function regressions examined the distributional impact of maternal and household factors across the 28th, 50th and 75th birth weight percentiles. Results: Maternal education, antenatal care (ANC) attendance, maternal disability and digital connectivity were key determinants of LBW, with effects varying across the birth weight distribution. Only 20.5% of the poor-rich LBW gap was explained by observable characteristics, primarily education and ANC. Recentred influence function regressions revealed stronger protective effects of education and ANC at lower percentiles, while maternal disability and Internet access were more relevant at higher percentiles. Conclusion: LBW in Lesotho reflects both structural barriers and compositional disadvantages. Addressing these requires equity-focused, distribution-sensitive maternal health interventions. Contribution: This study provides evidence-based insights to inform targeted policies to reduce LBW among vulnerable populations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.