Determinants of inequalities in self-perceived health among the urban poor in Kenya: A gender perspective
Background Gender health inequalities are largely socially determined. Though perception of health differs between the genders in many societies, little is known of the social determinants of gender inequalities in self-perceived health among the urban poor in developing economies in sub-Saharan Af...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Makhdoomi Printers
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://gjmedph.com/uploads/O2-Vo5No5.pdf |
| Summary: | Background
Gender health inequalities are largely socially determined. Though perception of health differs between the genders in many societies, little is known of the social determinants of gender inequalities in self-perceived health among the urban poor in developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Objectives
To identify the social determinants of self-perceived health among the genders in an urban informal settlement in sub-Saharan Africa and to determine the extent of the gender health inequalities.
Methods
This cross-sectional and observational community based study was carried out
between August and November 2012 in Korogocho informal settlement of
Nairobi, capital of Kenya; a sub-Saharan African country. Primary data were
collected with pre-tested structured questionnaires from randomly selected
adults aged 25 to 59 years residing in Korogocho. The independent variables
were age, education and employment status. The dependent variable was
categorized into poor and good self-perceived health. Data were analyzed with SPSS v 20. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05.
Results
The mean age (±SD) of the 719 participants was 34.2 ± 8.7 years. Women (73.9% of participants) were younger on average but were still significantly less educated with higher levels of unemployment than men (all P<0.05). Women also had higher prevalence of poor self-perceived health than men (28.3% vs. 20.7%; P<0.05).
Conclusion
Though younger, the prevalence of poor health was significantly higher among women who were also more socially disadvantaged in terms of education and employment than men. The findings stress the importance of gender analysis in research and highlight the crying need for gender-informed social policies, strategies and interventions to reduce gender health inequalities among the urban poor. |
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| ISSN: | 2277-9604 2277-9604 |