Association between gender differences in household headship and awareness of anaemia among Ethiopian women

Authors

  • Jemal HaidarHaidar Ali

Abstract

Abstract Background: Information on gender difference in household headship in relation to awareness and practice related to anaemia is limited. This study has examined the issue under caption and provides evidence-based information for some program initiatives. Methods: Data from 970 Ethiopian women of reproductive age was extracted from a large data set collected as part of a nation-wide micronutrient programmes surveillance to examine the association between gender difference in household-headship and anaemia awareness. Data were analysed in SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. Proportional differences on some selected variables were determined using χ2 test, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Males were found to head more than two third thereof the households. Significantly lower number of respondents were less educated with just 140 (14.4%) having primary cycle education (grades 1-6th) (P=0.001). About half of the respondents (50.2%) were aware of anaemia, with at least two thirds of the respondents from male-headed households aware of its symptoms (p=0.004) and treatment (p=0.003), and the difference was significant. Fewer women received iron supplementation in female-headed households (28.6%) than male-headed households (71.4%), though the difference was not significant (p=0.9). Unexpectedly, significant number of respondents with low awareness was among those with primary education despite regional variations (p=0.001). Conclusion: Anaemia awareness and treatment seeking behaviour was markedly lower in female-headed households than male-headed households which can be attributed to low levels of education. Thus, to narrow the observed gap, targeted education programs for women headed household is recommended. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2018; 32(2):00-000] Key words: Gender, education, anaemia, iron supplementation, women, Ethiopi

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Published

2020-12-12

How to Cite

Ali, J. H. (2020). Association between gender differences in household headship and awareness of anaemia among Ethiopian women. The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, 32(2). Retrieved from https://ejhd.org/index.php/ejhd/article/view/1665

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Original Articles