This study attempts to identify the causal and/or direct effects of sociocultural determinants of infant mortality in Turkey within a regional context using causal graph analysis and global and local spatial models. The conceptual framework, combined with the data, shows that fertility and consanguinity have direct effects on infant mortality rates, and that female illiteracy, as a proxy for maternal education, is the main cause of rising infant mortality even in the presence of latent confounding. The surface of estimates further shows that the local effects of female illiteracy and consanguinity are non‐stationary across space, calling for location‐specific policies.

中文翻译：

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土耳其婴儿死亡率：区域背景下的因果关系

这项研究试图使用因果图分析以及全球和局部空间模型，在区域范围内确定土耳其婴儿死亡率的社会文化决定因素的因果关系和/或直接影响。概念框架与数据相结合表明，生育能力和血缘关系直接影响婴儿死亡率，而女性文盲作为孕产妇教育的代表，即使存在潜在的混杂因素，也是婴儿死亡率上升的主要原因。估计的表面进一步表明，女性文盲和血缘关系的局部影响在整个空间都是不稳定的，因此需要针对具体地点的政策。