%0 Journal Article
%T Poverty, Place, and Parental Education: Drivers of Childhood Undernutrition Inequality in Ethiopia
%A Minseo Kim
%A Jihyun Park
%A Sunwoo Lee
%J International Journal of Social and Psychological Aspects of Healthcare
%@ 3108-4818
%D 2023
%V 3
%N 1
%R 10.51847/oaM53SfLTk
%P 130-143
%X Childhood undernutrition remains a major public health challenge worldwide, with the greatest burden borne by low-income and lower-middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, substantial disparities in childhood undernutrition persist across socioeconomic and demographic groups. This study seeks to assess the magnitude and temporal patterns of key socioeconomic inequalities in childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia. This cross-sectional analysis utilized pooled data from five rounds of the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2000 and 2019, comprising a total sample of 48,782 children under the age of five. Multilevel binary logistic regression models were employed to identify the socioeconomic factors associated with childhood undernutrition. Furthermore, concentration index measures and decomposition analyses were applied to quantify socioeconomic inequalities and examine their trends over time. Several socioeconomic factors, including place of residence, household economic status (measured using an asset-based wealth index), and maternal educational attainment, were significantly associated with childhood undernutrition (p < 0.001). Inequalities were most pronounced among children living in rural settings, those from economically disadvantaged households, and those whose mothers lacked formal education. Over the study period from 2000 to 2019, absolute socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of childhood undernutrition declined by 9.72 percentage points. Childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia remains unevenly distributed, disproportionately affecting children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The study highlights key socioeconomic drivers contributing to these inequalities, offering valuable evidence to guide targeted interventions and context-specific communication strategies aimed at improving child nutritional outcomes. The findings emphasize the importance of strengthening poverty alleviation efforts that directly address food insecurity and undernutrition among low-income population groups in Ethiopia.
%U https://smerpub.com/article/poverty-place-and-parental-education-drivers-of-childhood-undernutrition-inequality-in-ethiopia-jqievcv4qol3nej