Health Poverty and Vulnerability: An Empirical Analysis of Women in Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Health poverty - or poor health - could probably have similar determinants as income poverty. However, neither the determinants nor their marginal effects are likely to be identical. Given this difference and the limited assessment of health poverty among adult women in India, this study tries to analyze both the current health status, and the vulnerability to poor health, which is a measure of the future health status. Chronic energy deficiency, based on norms for the body mass index, is used as a measure of poor health. The analysis is carried out for the year 1998-99 for a sample of ever-married women in the age group of 15-49 years in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The results show that in both rural and urban areas of the state, vulnerability rates exceed the prevailing high rates of chronic energy deficiency. Although the set of variables that affect health poverty includes well-known determinants such as access to social infrastructure and socio-economic status, for the first time, the study provides quantitative estimates to understand their impact on health. It also finds that there are likely to be differences between rural and urban areas. While the source of drinking water has the greatest impact among the set of health status-determinants in rural areas, the access to good sanitation facility has substantial influence on health in urban areas. The main contribution of the study lies in demonstrating the applicability of recent methodological advances in the field of vulnerability research to issues of female health. Hence, the emphasis is on the 'potential' poor, rather than the current poor, the conventional focus of policy intervention.