Socio-economic factors explain differences in public health-related variables among women in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

نویسندگان

  • Md Mobarak H Khan
  • Alexander Kraemer
چکیده

BACKGROUND Worldwide one billion people are living in slum communities and experts projected that this number would double by 2030. Slum populations, which are increasing at an alarming rate in Bangladesh mainly due to rural-urban migration, are often neglected and characterized by poverty, poor housing, overcrowding, poor environment, and high prevalence of communicable diseases. Unfortunately, comparisons between women living in slums and those not living in slums are very limited in Bangladesh. The objectives of the study were to examine the association of living in slums (dichotomized as slum versus non-slum) with selected public health-related variables among women, first without adjusting for the influence of other factors and then in the presence of socio-economic variables. METHODS Secondary data was used in this study. 120 women living in slums (as cases) and 480 age-matched women living in other areas (as controls) were extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2004. Many socio-economic and demographic variables were analysed. SPSS was used to perform simple as well as multiple analyses. P-values based on t-test and Wald test were also reported to show the significance level. RESULTS Unadjusted results indicated that a significantly higher percent of women living in slums came from country side, had a poorer status by household characteristics, had less access to mass media, and had less education than women not living in slums. Mean BMI, knowledge of AIDS indicated by ever heard about AIDS, knowledge of avoiding AIDS by condom use, receiving adequate antenatal visits (4 or more) during the last pregnancy, and safe delivery practices assisted by skilled sources were significantly lower among women living in slums than those women living in other areas. However, all the unadjusted significant associations with the variable slum were greatly attenuated and became insignificant (expect safe delivery practices) when some socio-economic variables namely childhood place of residence, a composite variable of household characteristics, a composite variable of mass media access, and education were inserted into the multiple regression models. Taken together, childhood place of residence, the composite variable of mass media access, and education were the strongest predictors for the health related outcomes. CONCLUSION Reporting unadjusted findings of public health variables in women from slums versus non-slums can be misleading due to confounding factors. Our findings suggest that an association of childhood place of residence, mass media access and public health education should be considered before making any inference based on slum versus non-slum comparisons.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Socio-Cultural and Economic Factors Influencing Fertility Behavior in Staffs Working in Health Centers in Juybar, Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Purpose: Fertility behavior is affected by various factors. Health workers have a great share in educational programs on fertility behaviors, hence identifying the fertility behaviors of staffs working in health centers is necessary. The aim of this study was to assess socio-cultural and economic factors influencing fertility behavior of staffs in health centers in the northern p...

متن کامل

Difference between Primary and Secondary Infertility in Morocco: Frequencies and Associated Factors

Objective The main objective of this survey was to determine the difference between primary and secondary infertility in Morocco and the associated factors among women, who are referred to public and private health centers in Morocco. MaterialsAndMethods In this cross-sectional study, 619 infertile women referring to public and private health centers in Marrakech-Safi region, were selected by s...

متن کامل

Socio-economic inequalities in women's fruit and vegetable intakes: a multilevel study of individual, social and environmental mediators.

OBJECTIVE This study employed a multilevel design to test the contribution of individual, social and environmental factors to mediating socio-economic status (SES) inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption among women. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey was linked with objective environmental data. SETTING A community sample involving 45 neighbourhoods. SUBJECTS In total, 1347 women fr...

متن کامل

Socio-Economic Inequality and Mental Health in Tehran, Iran

  Background and Objectives: Understanding and analyzing the socio-economic factors affecting mental health is important for mental health policy-making in metropolitan areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between socio-economic factors and mental health of households living in Tehran.   Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 6...

متن کامل

Socio-demographic Determinants of Marital Satisfaction among an Iranian Population

Background: There is lack of Iranian studies on marital satisfaction which is one of the important factors in the stability of marriage. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of socio-demographic variables on marital satisfaction. Methods: This Analytical and  cross-sectional study was conducted on 770 married people from Gonabad city, Northeast of Iran. Simple random sampling was us...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • BMC Public Health

دوره 8  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2008