Classification of The Nigerian States by Reproductive Health Variables for Optimal Reproductive Health Service Delivery

moren M. U¹ , Odom Conleth C.²

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Isroset-Journal
Vol.6 , Issue.3 , pp.12-21, Jun-2019

CrossRef-DOI:   https://doi.org/10.26438/ijsrmss/v6i3.1221

Online published on Jun 30, 2019

Copyright © Umoren M. U , Odom Conleth C. . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
In this paper, we make use of cluster analysis to group the states in Nigeria into zones according to their similarity in reproductive health outcomes. Specifically, Ward’s hierarchical clustering method and k-means clustering method were used sequentially to group the thirty-six states of Nigeria and the federal capital territory into zones. Calinski and Harabasz’s variance-ratio criterion was used to determine the optimal number of zones. Three clusters of states with similar reproductive health outcomes within each cluster were found. The cluster solution was validated using Silhouette. The result shows that, for optimal reproductive health service delivery, grouping the states into zones according to their similarity in reproductive health outcomes poses a better alternative to the earlier grouping according to geopolitical zones.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Cluster Analysis, Ward’s Hierarchical Clustering, k-means Clustering, Variance Ratio Criterion, Reproductive Health Intervention

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