| Socio-demographic determinants of health support
services among orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria |
| Authors: |
Chima Victor |
| Source: |
Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology , 10(5): 165-170; DOI: 10.5897/JPHE2017.0981 |
| Topic(s): |
Child health
Orphanhood
Service utilization
|
| Country: |
Africa
Nigeria
|
| Published: |
MAY 2018 |
| Abstract: |
Worldwide, the population of orphans and vulnerable children is estimated to be around 160 million
with sub-Sahara Africa accounting for 80% of these children owing largely to the effect of HIV/AIDS,
civil wars, road accidents, sectarian violence, terrorism, and other factors. Efforts have been made over
the years by governments and development partners to mitigate the effects of orphanhood, but these
efforts have failed to achieve the required objectives because various socio-demographic factors
influence receipt of support services provided to OVC. This study therefore, examined the sociodemographic
determinants of child health support services provided to OVC in Nigeria by employing a
cross sectional research design utilizing secondary data obtained from the household recoded dataset
of the 2013 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) and analyzed at univariate, bivariate, and
multivariate levels (n=5114). The findings showed that region and age of child influenced receipt of
health support at the bivariate level (p<0.05). Furthermore, at the multivariate level, only region of
residence was significantly associated with the receipt of health support as residence in the North East,
North West, and South South regions significantly influenced receipt of health support services by OVC
in these regions (p<0.05). The study concluded that socio-demographic factors influenced health
support services provided to OVC and recommends that interventions should ensure an equity-focused
approach based on vulnerability status of children in providing support services. Also, innovative and
integrated approaches should be employed in identification, service provision, tracking and monitoring
of services provided to OVC in Nigeria.
Key words: Nigeria demographic health survey, sub-Saharan Africa, orphanhood.
INTRODUCTION
In recent |
| Web: |
http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/JPHE/article-full-text-pdf/57C796056717 |
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