Untangling the Web: Family Dynamics, Women's Agency, and Nutritional Outcomes for Children in Karachi.
Family Structure, Women's Empowerment, and Child Nutrition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62807/jowach.v2i1.2024.28-33Keywords:
Child malnutrition, Family structure, Women's empowerment, Nutritional status, Karachi, PakistanAbstract
Background: Child stunting and underweight are worldwide issues that may be connected to family structure. This research examined family type (nuclear vs. joint), women's empowerment, and child nutrition in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional research included 450 under-5s and their moms from healthcare settings. Child nutrition and mother empowerment were examined using standardized instruments. Nutritional outcomes, empowerment, and child stunting/underweight were examined across household types.
Results: Compared to children from nuclear families (stunting: 32.9%, 95% CI: 27.0-39.3; underweight: 15.6%, 95% CI: 10.9-21.4), children from joint families showed substantially reduced rates of underweight (32.9%, 95% CI: 27.0-39.3) and stunting (22.7%, 95% CI: 17.8-28.3) (p = 0.02 for both). In comparison to nuclear families (12.9%, 95% CI: 8.9-17.7), the slightly higher overweight prevalence in joint families (14.7%, 95% CI: 10.3-19.8) was not statistically significant (p = 0.51). Remarkably, greater maternal empowerment ratings were substantially linked to a decreased risk of stunting (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98, p = 0.01) and underweight (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98, p = 0.01) in children, independent of the type of household.
Conclusion: This research demonstrates that combined family structure may minimize stunting and underweight. Women's empowerment also improved child nutrition in both families. Further study is required to understand these results' mechanisms and long-term effects.
Keywords: Child malnutrition, Family structure, Women's empowerment, Nutritional status, Karachi, Pakistan
References
Chipili G., Msuya J., Pacific R., & Majili S.. women empowerment and the nutrition status of children aged between 6-59 months. Journal of nutrition and Health Sciences 2018;5(2). https://doi.org/10.15744/2393-9060.5.208
Aamir N. The plight of working mothers in Pakistan: advantages and disadvantages of a joint family system. Social Policy and Development Centre. 2004. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-PLIGHT-OF-WORKING-MOTHERS-IN-PAKISTAN%3A-AND-OF-A-Aamir/5097f870e580ddbe627ed7a87bdf6951627ca4b2
Benzies K. and Mychasiuk R.. Fostering family resiliency: a review of the key protective factors. Child &Amp; Family Social Work 2009;14(1):103-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00586.x
Hatch V. , Swerbenski H. , & Gray S.. Family social support buffers the intergenerational association of maternal adverse childhood experiences and preschoolers’ externalizing behavior.. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2020;90(4):489-501. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000451
Johnson J. , Esposito‐Smythers C. , Miranda R. , Rizzo C. , Justus A. , & Clum G.. Gender, social support, and depression in criminal justice– involved adolescents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2010;55(7):1096-1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x10382637
Ae-Ngibise K. , Doku V. , Asante K. , & Owusu‐Agyei S.. The experience of caregivers of people living with serious mental disorders: a study from rural ghana. Global Health Action 2015;8(1):26957. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.26957
Mohangi K.. Risks and opportunities for children's well-being in resource-constrained multigenerational households during covid-19: implications for school psychology interventions. School Psychology International 2022;44(2):236-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/01430343221144407
Lee H. , Ryan L. , Ofstedal M. , & Smith J.. Multigenerational households during childhood and trajectories of cognitive functioning among u.s. older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 2020;76(6):1161-1172. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa165
Ae-Ngibise K. , Doku V. , Asante K. , & Owusu‐Agyei S.. The experience of caregivers of people living with serious mental disorders: a study from rural ghana. Global Health Action 2015;8(1):26957. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.26957
Johnson J. , Esposito‐Smythers C. , Miranda R. , Rizzo C. , Justus A. , & Clum G.. Gender, social support, and depression in criminal justice– involved adolescents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2010;55(7):1096-1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x10382637
Benzies K. and Mychasiuk R.. Fostering family resiliency: a review of the key protective factors. Child &Amp; Family Social Work 2009;14(1):103-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00586.x
Hatch V. , Swerbenski H. , & Gray S.. Family social support buffers the intergenerational association of maternal adverse childhood experiences and preschoolers’ externalizing behavior.. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2020;90(4):489-501. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000451
Khuhro SN, Siddiqui MB. Assessing Impediments to Healthcare Access for Children Under Five in Larkana, Pakistan Using the Three Delays Model: Three Delays Model in Action: Unveiling Child Healthcare Obstacles in Larkana. Journal of Women and Child Health. 2024 Feb 28 2(1). Page 14-20. Available at https://www.jowach.com/index.php/js/article/view/11/13
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Hafiza Syeda Samrina, Eiman Kalsoom, Riaz Hussain Rahoojo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Journal of Women and Child Health (JoWaCH) adheres to the CC BY 4.0 license, which is a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For comprehensive information, we kindly request that you refer to the full license legal code. JoWaCH employs a non-exclusive license agreement for the purpose of open-access publication. In the context of open access publishing, the authors maintain the copyright of their work while also granting the journal the rights to publish and distribute it, while retaining the primary academic use rights. This practice facilitates the optimal use and dissemination of the work, while also guaranteeing proper attribution to the original source. The handling of manuscript content shall be conducted with confidentiality, with the exception of cases involving review processes and investigations related to potential misconduct, plagiarism, and duplicate/redundant or overlapping publications, in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) COPE Guidelines.
JoWaCH is prohibited from disseminating content derived from previously published scientific work without obtaining proper authorization. Obtaining permission from the copyright holder, who may be either the author(s) or the publisher, is necessary in cases where the copyright holder is the publisher, for any work you want to use.
While it is acceptable to use a small amount of a work, obtaining permission from the copyright owners is necessary for a significant extraction.
The use of unmodified or little modified tables, graphs, and artworks (whether they are the user's own work previously published elsewhere or created by another copyright holder) necessitates obtaining permission.
Tables, graphs, charts, and artworks that have been fully redesigned and rebuilt, and include proper reference of the source, do not need obtaining permission.
JoWaCH facilitates unrestricted access to journal material for readers, necessitating the imposition of membership fees. The journal operates on a self-sustaining financial model and does not rely on support from other sources. The procedure of publishing is contingent only upon the financial resources of the publisher. The readers have unrestricted access to the information on the journal website.
