Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India
The association between child marriage and the access to or utilization of maternal and antenatal healthcare has been widely studied. However, little is known about child brides’ access to healthcare for illnesses later in life. Using data on 496,283 married women aged 18 to 49 years from the India...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/10/1994 |
| _version_ | 1797473061431148544 |
|---|---|
| author | Biplab Datta Ajay Pandey Ashwini Tiwari |
| author_facet | Biplab Datta Ajay Pandey Ashwini Tiwari |
| author_sort | Biplab Datta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The association between child marriage and the access to or utilization of maternal and antenatal healthcare has been widely studied. However, little is known about child brides’ access to healthcare for illnesses later in life. Using data on 496,283 married women aged 18 to 49 years from the India National Family and Health Survey 2015–2016, we developed an 11-point composite score (ranging from 0 to 10) outlining the extent of problems accessing healthcare, as follows: (i) no/little problem (score 0 to 2), (ii) some problems (score 3 to 6), and (iii) big problems (score 7 to 10). The differences between child brides and their peers married as adults were assessed by the relative risk ratios obtained from multinomial logistic regressions. The adjusted risk of having “some problems” and “big problems” accessing healthcare relative to “no/little problem” for child brides was found to be 1.22 (95% CI: 1.20–1.25) and 1.26 (95% CI: 1.22–1.29) times that of those married as adults, respectively. These findings highlight the disproportionate barriers to healthcare access faced by women married as children compared to women married as adults and the need for further research to inform policies regarding effective public health interventions to improve healthcare access. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:09:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-80cf861211cd47018917c16dd2e23690 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:09:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-80cf861211cd47018917c16dd2e236902023-11-24T00:20:31ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-10-011010199410.3390/healthcare10101994Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from IndiaBiplab Datta0Ajay Pandey1Ashwini Tiwari2Institute of Public and Preventive Health, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USAInstitute of Public and Preventive Health, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USAThe association between child marriage and the access to or utilization of maternal and antenatal healthcare has been widely studied. However, little is known about child brides’ access to healthcare for illnesses later in life. Using data on 496,283 married women aged 18 to 49 years from the India National Family and Health Survey 2015–2016, we developed an 11-point composite score (ranging from 0 to 10) outlining the extent of problems accessing healthcare, as follows: (i) no/little problem (score 0 to 2), (ii) some problems (score 3 to 6), and (iii) big problems (score 7 to 10). The differences between child brides and their peers married as adults were assessed by the relative risk ratios obtained from multinomial logistic regressions. The adjusted risk of having “some problems” and “big problems” accessing healthcare relative to “no/little problem” for child brides was found to be 1.22 (95% CI: 1.20–1.25) and 1.26 (95% CI: 1.22–1.29) times that of those married as adults, respectively. These findings highlight the disproportionate barriers to healthcare access faced by women married as children compared to women married as adults and the need for further research to inform policies regarding effective public health interventions to improve healthcare access.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/10/1994child marriagehealthcare accesswomen’s healthIndia |
| spellingShingle | Biplab Datta Ajay Pandey Ashwini Tiwari Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India Healthcare child marriage healthcare access women’s health India |
| title | Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India |
| title_full | Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India |
| title_fullStr | Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India |
| title_short | Child Marriage and Problems Accessing Healthcare in Adulthood: Evidence from India |
| title_sort | child marriage and problems accessing healthcare in adulthood evidence from india |
| topic | child marriage healthcare access women’s health India |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/10/1994 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT biplabdatta childmarriageandproblemsaccessinghealthcareinadulthoodevidencefromindia AT ajaypandey childmarriageandproblemsaccessinghealthcareinadulthoodevidencefromindia AT ashwinitiwari childmarriageandproblemsaccessinghealthcareinadulthoodevidencefromindia |