Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe survival of children who are raised in kinship care is largely influenced by the way their primary caregivers manage their family dynamics. Although research has focused on the effects of family structure and other extended kin effects on various child health outcomes, it remains largely unknown how kin caregivers' family functioning influences child survival, particularly in the South African context where the practice of kinship care is widely spread. An inductive thematic approach was employed, and data were collected from 24 kin caregivers who were providing care to under‐five children. Analysis of the data resulted in the development of three superordinate themes, namely, (1) relationship with family members, (2) poor relationships and (3) family attachment and communication. Each superordinate theme was linked to subthemes that helped explain the phenomenon under study. Overall, the kin caregivers' family environments serve as both protective barriers and risk factors for child survival depending on the state of familial relationships, collaboration and involvement of other kin within the households of primary kin caregivers. This translates into the survival of children being greatly determined by the family environment in which they live and the quality of care that they receive in that family environment.

AbstractThe low uptake of maternal healthcare services (MHS) in Nigeria is implicated in the country's poor maternal health outcomes. In northern Nigeria where these outcomes are poorest, not much is known about the contribution of violence within unions on married women's uptake of MHS. Using data on antenatal care (ANC) utilisation and place of delivery, and their sociodemographic confounders from the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, this study investigates this relationship. Results of univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses show that 46.4% and 22.1% of the women had at least four ANC sessions and had health facility delivery respectively. At the subregional level however, the North-Central zone had the highest utilisation rates while the North-West zone had the lowest. The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) ranged from 8.2% (sexual violence) to 16.7% (physical violence) and 35.8% (emotional violence). Subregional analysis of IPV shows that the North-West zone had the lowest prevalence rates. Contrary to some literature evidence, women who experienced IPV in the study area had higher odds of utilising MHS (P < 0.001). When the sociodemographic characteristics of the women were adjusted for, the relationship became statistically insignificant however. The association between the women's socioeconomic characteristics and their MHS uptake suggests that attention be paid to the wealth and educational status of the population because of their propensity for sustaining the higher uptake recorded. The role of religion in the outcomes further suggests that it be used as a tool to promote the uptake of MHS in the region.

One of the major changes in family formation is the increasing tendency for people to enter into co-resident patterning without formalising the union through religious, civil or traditional rites. Despite the implications, this nuptiality behavior which is well documented in the more developed regions, has received negligible scholarly attention in Africa. Using three ranks of DHS surveys (1998-2014) in twelve countries, this study examined the levels, trends, individual and contextual factors associated with consensual union in West Africa. Descriptive results showed a rising trend in consensual union in the sub-region. Multilevel logistic regression analysis suggests that individual-level factors associated with consensual union included education, spousal age gap, second and higher order union, premarital birth, age at first sex, number of sons among others. Contextual predictors were community poverty level, proportion of educated women and proportion of divorced and separated women. Given the health and welfare implications of consensual union, the findings underscore the need for policies and programmatic interventions to protect women in consensual unions, and to extend the benefits of formal marriage to consensual union in case of break up.

SummaryEthnicity has been found to be a significant indicator of social position, and many studies have also established that ethnicity is a significant determinant of contraceptive use. This study aims to examine whether ethnicity is an important predictor of unmet need for contraception. Analysis was based on data for 4343 ever-married women drawn from the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive analysis indicates that in all ethnic groups except the Barotse and Tonga, women aged 15–49 years were married at an average age below 18. The highest mean number of children among the ethnic groups was 6.7, among the Bemba; the lowest was 5.9, among the Barotse. The highest proportion of women with an unmet need for contraception resided in the Eastern region. Multivariate logistic analyses reveal that children ever-born and region of residence were the most important predictors of unmet need for spacing, whereas for unmet need for limiting predictors were age at first marriage and partner's desire for children. Moreover, unmet need for spacing and limiting among women with secondary or higher education was significantly lower (47% and 50%, respectively) compared with those with no education. Ethnicity was not a significant predictor of unmet need for contraception. The findings stress the need for programmes aimed at enhancing the socioeconomic status of women.

Background Families in Africa have been undergoing changes recently. The objective of the study was to review published literature on the types, determinants and consequences of family changes in Africa and highlight research gaps in the area.Methods Sixty-nine journals from 1976 to date that were downloaded from databases such as Pub Med, JStor, Google Scholar and Science Direct, and were systematically reviewed.Results There is family transition in Africa due to socio-economic factors, religious, health and political changes. Seventy-two percent of the studies employed a quantitative approach, 20% qualitative and 7% mixed method approach. There are research gaps on topics such as same–sex marriages, cohabitation and father only households.Conclusion Families in Africa are responding to socio-economic and other changes that are happening around them. Family research is still under studied in Africa. There is need for more mixed method studies that explain the quantitative findings.