Objective:To investigate the relationship between maternal autonomy and various indices of child undernutrition among children aged <2 years in Nigeria, considering the cultural context and sociodemographic factors.Design:Population-based, cross-sectional study. Associations between various indices of maternal autonomy and child undernutrition (specifically stunting, underweight and wasting) were determined using weighted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression modelling.Setting:2013 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey.Participants:Children aged between 3 and 24 months (n 7532).Results:Overall, 31·4 % (n 2270), 29·8 % (n 2060) and 25·0 % (n 1755) of children in the sample were stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively. Women with acceptance of domestic violence (low autonomy) were approximately 18 and 14 % less likely to have stunted (OR = 0·82; 95 % CI 0·71, 0·94) and underweight children (OR = 0·86; 95 % CI 0·75, 0·99), respectively. Similarly, women with low power in their couple relations were 17 % less likely to have children who were wasted (OR = 0·83; 95 % CI 0·72, 0·97). Sociodemographic predictors of all indices of undernutrition included maternal education and Hausa ethnicity. Additionally, stunting was predicted by lack of exclusive breast-feeding, low income and being of Fulani ethnicity; wasting by having mothers with low BMI; and underweight by breast-feeding initiation within 1 h hour of birth, polygamous homes, mothers with low BMI and being of Fulani ethnicity.Conclusions:Women with acceptance of domestic violence and low power in couple relations were found to be less likely to have children with indices of undernutrition. This unexpected finding calls for future exploratory research, and policies and interventions that target at-risk subgroups.

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We linked the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data for Home Health and the Home Health Compare data for the year 2016 to identify home healthcare agency (HHA) characteristics associated with acute care hospitalization (ACH) or emergency department (ED) use. The study cohort consisted of 9,800 HHAs. Beta regression was used to examine the association between average age, race/ethnic composition, number of skilled nursing visits, number of therapy visits, percentage of dual eligible patients, HHA ownership, HHA location, Medicare tenure, proportion of patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, stroke, diabetes, depression, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, cancer and Alzheimer disease, and ACH or ED use. After controlling for HHA-level characteristics, variations in HHAs' ACH and unplanned ED visits were found. For-profit HHAs were significantly less likely to have patients with ACH. (Odds ratio = -0.05, p = 0.020), HHAs in the Midwest, South, and West had lower odds of ACH. HHAs that serve more than 50% Black patients had significantly decreased odds (β = -0.16, p < 0.001) of ACH. A 1-unit increase in the proportion of patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, COPD, stroke, heart failure, and Alzheimer disease was associated with increased odds of hospitalization. For each unit increase in the number of skilled nursing visits, the odds of ACH increased by 0.02 (p = 0.001). For-profit and nonprofit HHAs had a significant decrease in the odds of unplanned ED visits (p < 0.05). An increase in the proportion of patients with COPD was associated with increased odds of unplanned ED visits (p < 0.001). HHA characteristics are associated with hospitalization and ED use without hospitalization. These characteristics point to variation in quality of care measured by ACH and ED use.