The impact of health care resources, socioeconomic status, and demographic factors on infant mortality rates in Oman: evidence from 1980 to 2020

Background: Infant mortality is widely used as an indicator of public health, quality of health services, distribution of wealth, and overall social standard of living. The infant mortality rate (IMR) for Oman has decreased progressively from 115.55 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1971 to 6.59 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2020. Coinciding with such major changes in living conditions. The vast majority of people experience rapid socioeconomic growth, increasing average per capita income. Despite governments' efforts to improve the overall health of the population, Oman has also experienced numerous periods of economic recession and crises. Unfavorable economic conditions or health care services can affect infants' health status by causing disparities in the provision of prior health conditions and access to maternal and child health care. As a result, understanding the impact of demographic changes, socioeconomic status, and health resources on infant death is an important issue in research on the health status and major public health concern with crucial policy implications. In the West, the impact of health care delivery on infant mortality has been documented. Research shows that maternal and fetal-neonatal survival is dependent on a continuum of basic services during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum/newborn life. The impacts are obvious, and it is especially true that when the demographic and socioeconomic environment is booming, people need more medical and health care from the government. Although evidence of the effect of demographic, socioeconomic instability, and the availability of health resources on IMR has been proven in most Western countries, there has been relatively little research in the GCC countries, most notably in Oman. Aims and Research Questions: To develop an explanatory model to account for the factors contributing to the IMR in Oman. Specifically, to investigate the direct/indirect effects of socioeconomic instability, the availability of health resources, and demographic factors on IMR. Methodology: This is a retrospective design collecting yearly data covering 40 years in Oman using the government / official statistics for 1980 to 2020. Demographic, socioeconomic environments, and health resources are three main explanatory variables. A structural equation model will be used to determine the direct/indirect effects of these three main variables on IMR for Oman. Significance and policy relevance: Unfavorable socioeconomic conditions or health care services may affect the infant's health status by causing disparities in the provision of preconditions of health and access to maternal and child health care. As a result, understanding the impact of socioeconomic conditions on child health outcomes is an important issue in health state research and significant public health concern with policy implications. This proposal will provide aggregated data for the period 1980-2020, which has not been addressed for Oman. The proposed analysis can be used as a reference for researchers in Oman and provide additional clarification on this question. Moreover, the sustained decline in the IMR represents one of the most significant contemporary social achievements in the country. This study may provide further evidence that improving aspects of the healthcare system may be one way to compensate for the effects of social inequalities on health issues.