Do household structure and household economic resources predict childhood immunization? Evidence from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

This study assesses the influence of household structure and resource dilution characteristics on children's immunization coverage in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The study has three objectives: (1) to compare the impact of different types of household structures (e.g., single parent, two-parent, cohabiting and extended) on child immunization;(2) to examine the effects of household income and resource dilution on child immunization; and (3) to determine whether household structure and resource dilution interact to affect child immunization in these contexts.We use data from the Jamaica 1996 and Trinidad and Tobago 1997 Living Standards Measurement Study Survey and a series of logistic regression models to test hypotheses derived from the current child well-being literature. The results show that household income and household structures selectively predict children's immunization coverage in both contexts, with significant interaction effects enhancing the interpretation for Jamaica. The key policy implications that emerge from this study are that household structure and income are crucial for understanding child immunization in the Caribbean.

Decomposing the Gap in Childhood Undernutrition between Poor and Non–Poor in Urban India, 2005–06

“…Higher birth order is an indication of the presence of siblings within the family and its positive contribution to weight-for-age and height-for-age may be understood through the ‘dilution effect’: as the number of children increases, family resources available to an individual child decrease [64]. A previous study from in India suggests that the children living with many siblings are more likely to be underweight [65].…”

Socio-economic differentials in childhood immunization in India, 1992–2006

“…Despite the longstanding global, national, and local efforts, improvement in immunization coverage is stagnating across and within the countries Hardon and Blume 2005;Starling et al 2002;Westly 2003) with greater socio-economic divides (Anwar et al 2004;Carr 2004;Collin et al 2007;Gwatkin 2000;Gwatkin et al 2000;Kakwani et al 1997). Several factors such as household structure (Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong 2005; Gage et al 1997), household economic resources (Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong 2005;Pande and Yazbeck 2003), parental education (Desai and Alva 1998;Streatfield et al 1990), socio-cultural context (Pebley et al 1996), and accessibility of health services (Gauri and Khaleghian 2002;Gore et al 1999) were identified as significant determinants of the extent of childhood vaccinations.…”

Sociocultural and geographical disparities in child immunization in Nepal

“…living in many developing countries are deprived of receiving a complete course of immunization (Westly, 2003). In an effort to understand the key determinants of low prevalence of childhood immunization, previous studies have primarily focused on household structures (Gage, Sommerfelt and Piani, 1997;Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong, 2005); household economic resources (Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong, 2005); parental (particularly maternal) education (Desai and Alva, 1998;Streatfield, Singarimbun and Diamond, 1990); community contexts such as access to health services, community social structure and rural-urban residence (Pebley, Goldman and Rodriguez, 1996); access to health infrastructures and insurance (Gore and others, 1999), and political, institutional and organizational factors (Gauri and Khaleghian, 2002) as potential determinants. These studies have focused on Africa (e.g., Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago), Central America (e.g., Guatemala) and North America and do not reflect the relevance of sociocultural backgrounds and geographical disparities existing in Nepal.…”