Debnath Avijit, Bhattacharjee Nairita
a Department of Economics , Assam University , Silchar , India.
Ecol Food Nutr. 2016 Nov-Dec;55(6):508-527. doi: 10.1080/03670244.2016.1223652. Epub 2016 Sep 12.
Child malnutrition is considered to be the key risk factor for illness during adolescence and is responsible for about one-third of child deaths globally. Historically tribal communities have lagged behind the general population in terms of most socioeconomic aspects, and one such aspect is the nutritional status of children. The present study analyzes regional variations in child malnutrition and its association with women's empowerment in the tribal communities of India. The investigation is based on secondary data compiled from India's third National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Both bivariate and multivariate techniques were used to analyze data. We found a conditional inverse association between child malnutrition and women's empowerment in tribal communities. It is conditional in the sense that women's empowerment is effective when other factors supposed to influence nutritional status are proactive. Policy prescriptions are discussed.
儿童营养不良被认为是青少年患病的关键风险因素，全球约三分之一的儿童死亡与之有关。从历史上看，部落社区在大多数社会经济方面都落后于普通人群，儿童营养状况就是其中一个方面。本研究分析了印度部落社区儿童营养不良的地区差异及其与妇女赋权的关系。该调查基于从印度第三次全国家庭健康调查（NFHS）汇编的二手数据。采用双变量和多变量技术进行数据分析。我们发现部落社区中儿童营养不良与妇女赋权之间存在条件性的反向关联。这种条件性在于，当其他本应影响营养状况的因素发挥积极作用时，妇女赋权才会有效。文中还讨论了政策建议。
