Abstract
With increasing urbanization in India, child growth among urban poor has emerged as a paramount public health concern amidst the continuously increasing slum population and deteriorating quality of life. This study analyses child undernutrition among urban poor and non-poor and decomposes the contribution of various factors influencing socio-economic inequality. This study uses data from two rounds of National Family Health Survey conducted during 2005-06 and 2015-16. The concentration index (CI) and the concentration curve (CC) measure socio-economic inequality in child growth in terms of stunting, wasting, and underweight. Wagstaff decomposition further analyses key contributors in CI by segregating significant covariates into five groups-mother’s factor, health-seeking factors, environmental factors, child factors, and socio-economic factors. The concentration index decreased for stunting (-0.186 to -0.156), underweight (-0.213 to -0.162) and wasting (-0.116 to -0.045) from 2005-06 to 2015-16, respectively. The steepness in growth was more among urban poor than among urban non-poor in every age interval. Maternal education contributed about 19 percent, 29 percent, and 33 percent to the inequality in stunting, underweight and wasting, respectively during 2005-06. More than 85 percent of the economic inequality in stunting, underweight, and wasting among urban children were explained by maternal factors, environmental factors, and health-seeking factors. In conclusion, there is a need to expand the scope of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program to provide mass education regarding nutrition and health by making provisions of home visits of workers primarily focusing on pregnant and lactating mothers.
Presenters
Shekhar ChauhanPh.D. Research Scholar, Department of Population Policies and Programmes, International Institute for Population Sciences, Maharashtra, India Ratna Patel
PhD Research Scholar, Department of Public Health and Mortality Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences, Maharashtra, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus—Advancing Health and Equity: Best Practices in an International Perspective
KEYWORDS
Underweight, Stunting, Wasting, Economic inequality, India
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