Examining Intersectional Factors in Infant Mortality: The Role of Race, Geography, and Socioeconomic Status in Ohio

Background: Aspects of a mother’s identity such as race, socioeconomic status, and geographical location can impact healthcare access and outcomes, especially infant mortality.Objective: The aim of this study is to identify how different variables relating to a mother’s identity intersect with one another to impact infant mortality rate in Ohio.Methods: Data for infant mortality rate, racial residential segregation index, patient race by percentage, and median household income was collected from County Health Rankings, and data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics.Results: A linear regression found that the best fitting model including median household income and percent Black Ohioans was significant (F2,58=21.814, p<.001), accounting for 42.9% of the variance in infant mortality rate. The results of the paired t-test comparing infant mortality rates in 2016 and 2023 found a statistically significant decrease from 7.097% in 2016 and 6.600% in 2023. The results of the paired t-test comparing racial segregation indices in 2016 and 2023 found a statistically significant increase from 57.64% in 2016 and 59.39% in 2023.Conclusion: Socioeconomic status, especially in conjunction with race, has a significant impact on infant mortality rate in Ohio. Policies and interventions should focus on mediating financial disparities.