The DHS Program

Maternal and Child Health in Nepal: The Effects of Caste, Ethnicity, and Regional Identity (English) 

Document Type

Further Analysis

Publication Topic(s)

Child Health and Development, Maternal Health

Country(s)

Nepal

Survey

Nepal DHS, 2011

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Pandey, Jhabindra Prasad, Megha Raj Dhakal, Sujan Karki, Pradeep Poudel, and Meeta Sainju Pradhan. 2013. Maternal and Child Health in Nepal: The Effects of Caste, Ethnicity, and Regional Identity: Further Analysis of the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. DHS Further Analysis Reports No. 73. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Nepal Ministry of Health and Population, New ERA, and ICF International.

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Publication Date

March 2013

Publication ID

FA73

Abstract:

Analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) findings from the perspective of caste, ethnicity, and regional identity (Bennett et al., 2008) was first conducted only after the third DHS round, which took place in 2006. The final reports in each round of the NDHS present extensive analysis from a gender, age, wealth, and geographic perspective but do not disaggregated the data from the perspective of caste, ethnicity, and regional identity. However, studies by Bennett and colleagues (2008), RTI (2008), and the Nepal Family Health Program II and New ERA (2010) have revealed important differences among caste/ethnic groups, exposing gaps in health services utilization and health outcomes that remain despite overall progress toward many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Such studies provide a valuable opportunity to focus policy attention on specific excluded or under-served groups of people. This paper has two principal objectives. The first is to foster a better understanding of the disparities, in terms of caste, ethnicity, and regional identity, in access to and utilization of health services and in health outcomes by disaggregating the 2011 NDHS data for a selection of maternal and child health services and outcomes. Second, it examines the association of the caste, ethnicity, and regional identity of the respondents with use of selected health services and with health outcomes. Thus, the paper aims to help strengthen the evidence base on existing social disparities as a foundation for policy-making and programmatic decisions in the health sector.