Association between women's empowerment and diarrhoea in children under five years: evidence from the 2017/18 Benin Demographic and Health Survey. 2023

Betregiorgis Zegeye, and Dina Idriss-Wheeler, and Sanni Yaya
HaSET Maternal and Child Health Research Program, Shewarobit, Ethiopia.

Globally, diarrhoea is the third leading cause of death for under five-children. Women's empowerment can significantly reduce under-five mortality due to diarrhoea. This study investigated the association between women's empowerment and childhood diarrhoea in Benin using data from the 2017/18 Benin Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 7979 currently married women were included in the study. A logistic regression model was used to control for possible confounders. The prevalence of diarrhoea among children under five years of age was 13.6%. About 36.3% of the currently married women decided either alone or together with their husband on their own health, purchase of large household items and visiting family/relatives. Close to 65.4% of currently married women disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating. The children of mothers who had decision-making power were less likely to have diarrhoea (aOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57-0.96) than the children of mothers who had no decision-making power. Moreover, the children of mothers who disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65-0.96) were less likely to have diarrhoea than the children of mothers who accepted wife-beating as a part of life. Women's age, educational level, wealth index and region were associated with childhood diarrhoea in Benin. The role of women's empowerment, as determined by decision-making power and wife-beating attitude, was found to be significantly associated with the risk of childhood diarrhoea in Benin, after adjusting for other variables. Therefore, it is essential for policymakers in Benin to reinforce strategies and interventions focusing on women's empowerment to avert childhood mortality caused by diarrhoea. This includes improving household economic status, women's education and decision-making power and enhancing awareness of women's human and democratic rights.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003657 Decision Making The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea. Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D003967 Diarrhea An increased liquidity or decreased consistency of FECES, such as running stool. Fecal consistency is related to the ratio of water-holding capacity of insoluble solids to total water, rather than the amount of water present. Diarrhea is not hyperdefecation or increased fecal weight. Diarrheas
D005191 Family Characteristics Size and composition of the family. Family Size,Couples,Family Demography,Family Life Surveys,Family Size, Average,Family Size, Completed,Family Size, Desired,Family Size, Expected,Family Size, Ideal,Family and Household,Generations,Head of Household,Households,One-Person Household,Average Family Size,Average Family Sizes,Completed Family Size,Completed Family Sizes,Demography, Family,Desired Family Size,Desired Family Sizes,Expected Family Size,Expected Family Sizes,Family Characteristic,Family Demographies,Family Life Survey,Family Sizes,Family Sizes, Ideal,Household,Household Head,Household Heads,Household and Family,Household, One-Person,Ideal Family Size,Ideal Family Sizes,One Person Household,One-Person Households,Survey, Family Life
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000079102 Empowerment Process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions as deigned by the individuals or groups.
D001541 Benin A country in western Africa, south of NIGER and between TOGO and NIGERIA. Its capital is Porto-Novo. Dahomey,Republic of Benin
D012959 Socioeconomic Factors Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure. Economic and Social Factors,Social Inequalities,Social Inequality,Social and Economic Factors,Socioeconomic Characteristics,Factors, Socioeconomic,High-Income Population,Land Tenure,Standard of Living,Characteristic, Socioeconomic,Factor, Socioeconomic,High Income Population,High-Income Populations,Inequality, Social,Living Standard,Living Standards,Population, High-Income,Socioeconomic Characteristic,Socioeconomic Factor,Tenure, Land

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