The paper examines risk factors associated with child mortality in the scheduled tribe population in India and explains differences in child mortality outcomes between the scheduled tribe and the non-scheduled tribe population. A weighted total of 7,962 deaths of children aged under 5 years occurred within the 5 years preceding the survey in our pooled sample of NFHS 3 and NFHS 4 where scheduled tribe children contribute approximately 59% of the death. A Cox proportional hazard regression is estimated using several predictors. The findings suggest that there is a significant decline in neonatal, infant and under-five mortality among the tribal population in the last 10 years. Cox regression results indicate that timely implementation of ante-natal care, postnatal care and institutional delivery are important factors behind the reduction in neonatal as well as infant mortality in tribal-dominated areas; whereas proper family planning method, lower birth order of the child and maternal education, media exposure along with autonomy of mother are effective in reducing under-five mortality. Further, early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding can reduce child mortality more effectively. Therefore, policies and programmes on maternal care and family planning, and the creation of awareness at the community level on reproductive maternal and child health will need to be emphasised to reduce child mortality in the tribal population.

本文研究了与印度在册部落人口儿童死亡率相关的风险因素，并解释了在册部落人口和非在册部落人口儿童死亡率结果的差异。在我们的 NFHS 3 和 NFHS 4 汇总样本中，调查前 5 年内，加权总计 7,962 名 5 岁以下儿童死亡，其中在册部落儿童约占死亡人数的 59%。 Cox 比例风险回归是使用多个预测变量来估计的。研究结果表明，过去 10 年来，部落人口的新生儿、婴儿和五岁以下儿童死亡率显着下降。 Cox回归结果表明，及时实施产前护理、产后护理和机构分娩是部落主导地区新生儿和婴儿死亡率降低的重要因素；适当的计划生育方法、降低婴儿出生顺序和孕产妇教育、媒体曝光以及母亲的自主权可有效降低五岁以下儿童死亡率。此外，尽早开始母乳喂养和纯母乳喂养可以更有效地降低儿童死亡率。因此，需要强调关于孕产妇保健和计划生育的政策和方案，以及在社区一级提高对生殖妇幼健康的认识，以降低部落人口的儿童死亡率。