An analysis of the respective contributions of husband and wife in farming households in Kenya to decisions regarding the use of income: A multinomial logit approach

Gender transformative innovation: Women's inclusion in livestock vaccine systems in northern Ghana

To understand the health-seeking behaviour of adolescent women in Bangladesh with respect to the use of maternal health services. Literature review of seven electronic databases: PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, POPLINE and Global Health. Studies published in English between 1990 and 2013 which describe Bangladeshi adolescent women's healthcare-seeking behaviour during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum were included. Twelve studies were included in this review. 11 used quantitative methods and one used a mixed-methods approach. All studies included married adolescent women only. Women with lower educational levels are less likely to seek skilled maternal health services than those with higher levels of education. Use of maternal health services is also less common among rural married adolescent women than women in urban areas. Being part of the richest bands of wealth, having had previous experiences of childbirth and higher women's autonomy positively influence the use of skilled maternal health services among married adolescent women in Bangladesh. Antenatal care is a key predictor of the use of skilled birth attendants for delivery and post-natal care. Maternal health-related programmes should be designed targeting rural and uneducated married adolescent women in Bangladesh. More qualitative investigations are required to broaden our understanding on maternal health-seeking behaviour of both married and unmarried adolescent women.

BackgroundThis review focuses on studies about digital health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Digital health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly adopting gender-transformative approaches to address factors that derail women's access to maternal healthcare services. However, there remains a paucity of synthesized evidence on gender-transformative digital health programs for maternal healthcare and the corresponding research, program and policy implications. Therefore, this systematic review aims to synthesize evidence of approaches to transformative gender integration in digital health programs (specifically mHealth) for maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodThe following key terms “mobile health”, “gender”, “maternal health”, “sub-Saharan Africa” were used to conduct electronic searches in the following databases: PsycInfo, EMBASE, Medline (OVID), CINAHL, and Global Health databases. The method and results are reported as consistent with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Data synthesis followed a convergent approach for mixed-method systematic review recommended by the JBI (Joanna Briggs Institute).ResultsOf the 394 studies retrieved from the databases, 11 were included in the review. Out of these, six studies were qualitative in nature, three were randomized control trials, and two were mixed-method studies. Findings show that gender transformative programs addressed one or more of the following categories: (1) gender norms/roles/relations, (2) women's specific needs, (3) causes of gender-based health inequities, (4) ways to transform harmful gender norms, (5) promoting gender equality, (6) progressive changes in power relationships between women and men. The most common mHealth delivery system was text messages via short message service on mobile phones. The majority of mHealth programs for maternal healthcare were focused on reducing unintended pregnancies through the promotion of contraceptive use. The most employed gender transformative approach was a focus on women's specific needs.ConclusionFindings from gender transformative mHealth programs indicate positive results overall. Those reporting negative results indicated the need for a more explicit focus on gender in mHealth programs. Highlighting gender transformative approaches adds to discussions on how best to promote mHealth for maternal health through a gender transformative lens and provides evidence relevant to policy and research.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42023346631.

Purpose – The main objective of this research is to explore the impacts of globalization on gender empowerment.Methodology – This research uses a design that combines lagged cross-sectional and cross-sectional analyses. We have used ordinary least square regression. The sample size for this research is 48–70 nation-states. We have used gender empowerment measurement as an indicator of decision-making power that women in a society gain in decision making as a group.Findings – Our findings illustrate variable effects of global economy on gender empowerment. Higher commodity concentration significantly lowers women's access to the formal and informal labor force and women's decision-making power after controlling for economic development, culture, and state's location in the global economy. Foreign direct investment lowers women's share in both the formal and informal labor force and women's decision-making power, while increasing women's share of secondary education. Thus, this research examines wider dimensions of women's experiences. We also find that some policies have positive effects, whereas others have negative effects on gender empowerment.Originality/value of the chapter – Previous research on globalization and development has discussed the impacts of globalization on women's empowerment. However, researchers have either used women's access to formal work or education or gender development scores as an indicator of women's empowerment. Researchers have not captured women's empowerment completely. We have overcome this limitation by defining empowerment as a complex of access to resources (access to education, formal and informal labor force) and decision-making power (gender empowerment scores).

For most studies that have been carried out, a country’s level of income and aggregate wealth go a long way in shaping the overall welfare of citizens therein. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between wealth status and educational attainment, as a manifestation of income inequality, especially when the wealth status is disaggregated. With data obtained from the National Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2013 and the adoption of the multinomial logit model, this study captured exogenous variables such as wealth index, the core variable; household sex preference, a dummy variable that takes the value of 1 if a household prefers a male child and 0 otherwise; and place, another control variable. This study finds that there is a very significant relationship between wealth status and educational attainment, especially for the individual categories of wealth index, hence, educational inequality hinders the quest to achieve higher educational levels for individuals from low wealth families. This study therefore recommends that the government should engender state-based subsidized education cost programs that will be targeted at poor households, as well as intensify efforts in solidifying the overall educational framework in the country, especially in the rural areas bereft of facilities.

This article presents Islamic women's framing processes in their campaigns to address women's political underrepresentation in Iran and Turkey. It argues that while Turkish women justify their claims through international human rights discourses, Iranian women frame their demands in religious terms to find resonance with political elites. Women's strategic framing processes demonstrate the extent to which women's demands for equal representation are shaped by the political and discursive opportunity structures that arise out of their secular or theocratic contexts.In many Muslim-majority countries, Islamic movements and parties tend to negatively view women's access to political leadership positions.1 The dominant gender discourse of these movements, which is often based on patriarchal interpretations of religious texts, views women's proper place to be within the domestic sphere as mothers and wives, and largely denies women an active presence in the public sphere, including in political decision-making. Scholarly analysis of women's activities and involvement in political parties that arise out of Islamic political movements has persuasively argued that despite the high level of women's political participation on behalf of such parties, women tend to have low levels of political representation.2 For instance, a number of scholars have pointed to the fact that many Islamic political parties have mobilized and politicized women to serve merely as campaigners and grassroots organizers to help bring the party to power, or have used women's bodies and dress as public markers of their identity claims. But once in power, the male elites of such parties have often denied women any real power or influence in formal politics.3 Although this kind of discrimination is not exclusive to religious movements and parties, it is often assumed that religiously motivated parties are more detrimental to women's political representation than are their secular counterparts. The works of scholars such as Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris and Steven Fish fall within this line of argumentation by emphasizing religious and cultural barriers, namely Islam and patriarchal attitudes, as the primary reasons for women's limited access to positions of political authority.4A surprising recent trend that challenges the current literature's overwhelming emphasis on the religious/cultural obstacles that keep women out of political decisionmaking is the modest increases in the percentage of women in political leadership on behalf of some religious political parties in various Muslim-majority countries. For instance, Clark and Schwedler have observed that in Yemen and Jordan the percentage of women assuming political office has modestly increased in the wake of and forces' rise to power.5 This trend is also present in Turkey and Iran, the two case studies of this research. Regardless of Turkey's secular or Iran's theocratic political frameworks, women's access to political leadership positions increased under the watch of and religious forces, and (unexpectedly) not under liberalreformist or secular parties. In Turkey, the recent notable increases in the percentage of female parliamentarians (currently at its highest ever at 17.5%) coincides with the 2002 rise to power of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, henceforth AKP, but often called the AK Party by supporters). The AKP was founded in 2001 by members of defunct Turkish parties (Refah, the Welfare Party; and Fazilet, the Virtue Party). Since its landslide victory in 2002, the AKP, which identifies itself as a conservative democratic rather than Islamist party, has steadily increased its percentage of popular votes in general elections, although it significantly underperformed in the June 2015 general elections and lost its parliamentary majority.6 Due to the AKP's official support of a secular system in which public displays of religion have a place, I identify this party as pro-religious. …

BackgroundThis study analyzed the factors affecting the use of improved cook stoves (ICS) in informal settlements of Addis Ababa based on the data generated from 450 households drawn from Woreda (Woreda is a local term used to describe the lowest administrative unit of Addis Ababa City Administration, Ethiopia.) 12 of Yeka subcity. It examined the interactive effect of households’ socio-economic backgrounds and energy sources on the adoption of ICS. The data were analyzed using descriptive methods and the multinomial logit model.ResultsDemographic and economic factors such as sex of the household head,[Household head is the one who has an income and decision-making power in family affairs (a husband for married people)], family size and family income have no relationships with households’ ICS use while education level, number of years lived in the area, type of home owned, and stove-operating costs have a significant influence on the choice of an ICS. Households that live in a good home (made from wood and cement) used more Mirt (Mirt is an improved firewood stove mainly used to bake Injera and bread.) and Lakech [Lakech also called Tikikil is an improved charcoal stove used to cook different kinds of dishes (non-Injera)] stoves than the traditional three-stone stoves. On the other hand, household heads with higher levels of education and who have lived more than 7 years in the area in a better home owned more ICS than the traditional three-stone stoves.ConclusionsThe availability, affordability, durability and simplicity to operate stoves, and subsidies affect the choice of an ICS. Energy sources that are commonly used by households in informal settlements also have a strong influence on the choice of energy-efficient stoves. Compared to ICS, heavy use of traditional three-stone stoves by households that already have access to electricity, directs government policies to focus on providing reliable electric service and subsidize those using ICS.

Generally, the constant change in demographic trends among the aged depict gradual increase in the size of the aged population globally. The aged population is often capitalised with degenerative conditions such as chronic illness which affect their ability to function effectively and often require special support. Despite the increase in the size of the aged population and their associated degenerative conditions, very few descriptive studies on the determinants of chronic illness among the aged has been researched especially in developing countries such as Ghana and there is no compelling evidence on the association of chronic illness and its determinants. Thus, this study seeks to analyse and predict the impact of age, gender, education, marital status, Quality of Life (QoL), social cohesion, settlement and depression on chronic illness among the aged population in Ghana. From the studies a Multinomial Logit Regression (MLR) was employed to analyse the data obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) under, Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), 2012. It was revealed that out of the 1384 sampled, 71% had no chronic illness whilst 22% and 7% had one and two or more chronic illness respectively. Again, it was observed that, Depression State, Gender, Marital Status and Settlement Type (rural or urban) play significant roles in determining the likelihood of the aged getting chronic illness while Physical Function, Social Cohesion, QoL, Age and Education Level were not statistically significant determinants of chronic illness. Our findings demonstrate that chronic illness among the aged is constantly increasing in Ghana especially in the urban communities and need to be addressed urgently through governmental policies and programs in the quest to help salvage the deteriorating conditions of the aged.
 
 Keywords: Aged Population, Multinomial Logit Model, Chronic Illness

There is a gender gap observed in access, ownership and control of land and other productive resources which is not in favor of women in Nigeria. While most studies on access to land resource have related it to food security, this study however examined its implications for the empowerment of women in the study area. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 120 households from the population. Questionnaires were used to elicit information from the sample, and its administration was interactive. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between women's empowerment and access, control, and ownership of land resource. The regression analysis showed that land ownership, rights to land, and decision-making power over land had significant effects on the empowerment status. The study recommends that laws that will ensure and protect women's access and rights to land should be put in place and such laws should be properly monitored and evaluated. Keywords: Access to Land, Women’s Empowerment, Land Ownership, control of land Proceedings Reference

Accessibility to primary care physicians: Comparing floating catchments with a utility-based approach

BackgroundWomen’s ability to make contraceptive decision can determine their contraceptive use which can improve their reproductive health and career. Improvement in such ability can increase contraceptive prevalence in Nigeria. However, factors that promote contraceptive decision-making among women are scarcely studied. This study examined factors associated with women’s individual or joint contraceptive decision-making in Nigeria.MethodsSecondary (cross-sectional) data were analysed. The data were extracted from the individual recode file of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Partnered women (i.e., currently married or living with a partner) aged 15–49 years and currently using contraceptives before the survey were considered. They constituted 4,823 in total. Their data were analysed using frequency and percentage distributions of variables, Chi-square tests of independence and multinominal logistic regression.ResultsFindings reveal that 23% (1,125) of women made their own contraceptive decision, nearly 67% (3,213) were joint decision makers, and 10% (491) stated that their male partners had decided for them. The probability of solely making contraceptive decision and being a joint decision maker (relative to being a male partner’s decision) was higher among women above 29 years and aged 30–34 years (than women aged 15–24 years) respectively as well as among the employed (than the unemployed) and among those from Yoruba ethnic group (than their counterparts from Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri/Beri Beri) respectively. The probability of being responsible for contraceptive decision (than being the male partner’s decision) was higher among women from the Igbo group and women whose male partners desired more children (than those with the same number of desired children) respectively. The probability of being the main decision maker (relative to being the male partner) was lower among women in the poorer (RRR = 0.39; 95%CI = 0.21–0.73; p = 0.01), middle (RRR = 0.47; 95%CI = 0.25–0.90; p = 0.02) and richest (RRR = 0.41; 95%CI = 0.20–0.82; p = 0.01) groups respectively, than the poorest women. The probability of being a joint decision maker was higher among women with secondary education (than the uneducated), practised Christianity (than the Muslims/ others), and among those residing in the North West region (than those in North East) respectively. However, the probability of being a joint decision-maker was lower among women whose partners desire more children and those who did not know their partners’ desires.ConclusionsWomen’s age, highest level of education, employment status, wealth index, ethnicity, religion, region of residence and male partners’ desire for children are associated with contraceptive decision making respectively. There is a need for reproductive empowerment interventions in Nigeria that devise effective ways of improving contraceptive decision-making power of partnered women aged 15–24 years, unemployed, in the poorer and richest groups, from the Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri/Beri Beri ethnic group, practising Islam/ other religions, have the same fertility desire as their partners and those who do not know their male partner’s desire for children respectively. Women whose partners desire more children should be empowered to participate effectively in contraceptive decision making.

Gender inequality in access to productive and economic resources has been a significant issue in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Kenya, where rural households face varying levels of food security. While existing research has extensively examined the general determinants of food security among rural households in Kenya, there is a significant gap in understanding how these determinants differ by gender. Utilizing Kenya Intergrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) 2015/16 data and a binary logistic regression model, the study seeks to examine the impact of gender differences on the prevalence of food security among rural households in Kenya, while controlling for a set of household demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The findings revealed significant gender disparities, with female-headed households exhibiting higher food security scores compared to male-headed households. This is attributed to women’s greater involvement in household food management and decision-making processes. The findings further revealed that the education status of the household head and household size are important determinants of food security among female-headed households while the education status of the household head, household size, access to credit and income are important determinants of food security among male-headed households. Given the findings of the study, it is evident that gender differences significantly influence food security among rural households in Kenya. The study therefore recommends that policy makers should incorporate gender-specific considerations into the design of food security policies and reforms

Health status of a population can be evaluated by health expectancy expressed as average lifetime in various states of health. The purpose of the study was to compare health expectancy in population groups at high, medium and low educational levels. Health interview data were combined with life table figures using Sullivan's method. Life expectancy was 4.3 years longer for 30-year-old men with a high educational level than for those with a low level. At age 30, the proportion of expected lifetime in self-rated good health was 67.7%, 76.1% and 82.3% for men with a low, medium and high educational level, respectively. Among women, life expectancy differed by 2.7 years between low and high educational level, and the proportion of expected lifetime in self-rated good health was 62.5% at the low and 80.5% at the high educational level. Educational level and life expectancy are clearly related. The social gradient in terms of health expectancy is even greater than that in terms of life expectancy.

This paper makes an attempt to investigate the determinants of women empowerment at domestic and non-domestic issues in Bangladesh by examining the situation prevailing in one particular area of Chapai Nawabganj district using the information from 500 ever married women within the reproductive span (15-49 years). Our study documented that, although a large percentage of women were enjoying empowerment at various domestic and non domestic related issues still it is not in a satisfactory level. Only 4.5% women could take decision for child health care activities and 51.6% could caste vote with their own decision and 59.0% respondents could handled the daily expenditure for the family. Findings revealed that 79.7% respondent's expressed their opinion having freedom of movement outside the home without husband's permission and 83.0% respondents gave their opinion for equal right in education of son and daughter which seem to be a good indication regarding women's empowerment. From the logistic regression model considering decision-making power for household affairs as the dependent variable we saw that urban respondents, respondents living in combined family, having mass media facility have more decision making power regarding household affairs. The model also shows that as the level of education of the respondents increases their decision making power also rises From the logistic regression model concerning decision-making power about casting vote the main contributing factors that have significant impact on women's decisions making power towards vote were found to be respondent's education, type of family, mass media exposure, age at marriage, daily household expenditure, freedom of movement, decision for household affairs and women's participation as representative. Key words: household affairs; freedom of movement; caste of vote; daily expenditure; logistic regression analysis. DOI: 10.3126/dsaj.v3i0.2784 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.3 2009 143-162

The story of the English Civil Wars and Revolution (1640-1660) is inevitably told through the evidence of mass public petitions. The petitioners and their campaigns have been extensively studied and accounts of women's involvement in the revolution have drawn heavily upon this material. However little attention has been paid to the genre of the petition and what this means for women's access to this means of political and social communication. In particular, existing accounts do not devote much attention to the routine use of the petition as a legal and administrative form of communication, so they do not consider women's routine involvement in that practice as a relevant context or history that might explain their capacity to participate in public petitioning campaigns during the Revolution. This article undertakes that task. With one exception, it does not examine the revolutionary era women's texts themselves; instead it provides a legal and administrative context for our better understanding of them.