Dataset Information

Women's decision-making power and undernutrition in their children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Undernutrition in children remains a major global health issue and the prevalence of undernutrition in children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among the highest in the world. Both biological and socioeconomic factors contribute to undernutrition, and the literature reports an association between women's empowerment and lower rates of child undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the relationship between women's decision-making power and child undernutrition is less understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between women's decision-making power and stunting/wasting in their children under age five in the DRC. This study used cross-sectional data from the 2013-2014 DRC Demographic and Health Survey, from which a sample of 3,721 woman-child pairs were identified. Women were classified as having decision-making power in five decision-making dimensions if they participated in the decision either alone or jointly with their husband or partner or someone else. Child height-for-age and weight-for-height Z-scores were used to determine stunting and wasting, respectively, according to the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. Multivariate regression analyses demonstrated that none of the five dimensions of decision-making power were associated with stunting or wasting in children. Further research that evaluates women's decision-making power with more detailed, relevant and context-specific measures is warranted to more accurately investigate women's decision-making power and undernutrition in children.

SUBMITTER: McKenna CG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6897415 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Women's decision-making power and undernutrition in their children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A cross-sectional study.

McKenna Caroline G CG Bartels Susan A SA Pablo Lesley A LA Walker Melanie M

PloS one 20191206 12

Undernutrition in children remains a major global health issue and the prevalence of undernutrition in children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among the highest in the world. Both biological and socioeconomic factors contribute to undernutrition, and the literature reports an association between women's empowerment and lower rates of child undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the relationship between women's decision-making power and child undernutritio ...[more]

PMID: 31809519

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Project description:IntroductionIn 2018, Malaria accounted for 38% of the overall morbidity and 36% of the overall mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study aimed to identify malaria socioeconomic predictors among children aged 6-59 months in DRC and to describe a socioeconomic profile of the most-at-risk children aged 6-59 months for malaria infection.Materials and methodsThis study used data from the 2013 DRC Demographic and Health Survey. The sample included 8,547 children aged 6-59 months who were tested for malaria by microscopy. Malaria infection status, the dependent variable, is a dummy variable characterized as a positive or negative test. The independent variables were child's sex, age, and living arrangement; mother's education; household's socioeconomic variables; province of residence; and type of place of residence. Statistical analyses used the chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) model and logistic regression.ResultsOf the 8,547 children included in the sample, 25% had malaria infection. Four variables-child's age, mother's education, province, and wealth index-were statistically associated with the prevalence of malaria infection in bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis (CHAID and logistic regression). The prevalence of malaria infection increases with child's age and decreases significantly with mother's education and the household wealth index. These findings suggest that the prevalence of malaria infection is driven by interactions among environmental factors, socioeconomic characteristics, and probably differences in the implementation of malaria programs across the country. The effect of mother's education on malaria infection was only significant among under-five children living in Ituri, Kasaï-Central, Haut-Uele, Lomami, Nord-Ubangi, and Maniema provinces, and the effect of wealth index was significant in Mai-Ndombe, Tshopo, and Haut-Katanga provinces.ConclusionFindings from this study could be used for targeting malaria interventions in DRC. Although malaria infection is common across the country, the prevalence of children at high risk for malaria infection varies by province and other background characteristics, including age, mother's education, wealth index, and place of residence. In light of these findings, designing provincial and multisectoral interventions could be an effective strategy to achieve zero malaria infection in DRC.

Dataset Information

Women's decision-making power and undernutrition in their children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A cross-sectional study.

Publications

Women's decision-making power and undernutrition in their children under age five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A cross-sectional study.

Similar Datasets

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