Child and maternal health vulnerability among the indigenous population in India: Based on cross-sectional data NFHS 2015-16

Abstract

: Large inequalities in health exist between indigenous and non-indigenous populations worldwide. Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes than their non-Indigenous counterparts do. This study aimed to examine child and maternal health vulnerability among the indigenous population in the country. The data for the present study was extracted from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-IV), which was conducted from 2015–16. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the predicted prevalence of child and maternal morbidities in the social group. Social stratification is a major determinant of health inequality in a country’s indigenous and non-indigenous populations. Compared to non-indigenous women, indigenous women have a higher risk of asthma, cancer, and heart disease. Similarly, in the indigenous community, children are more vulnerable to stunting, wasting, and being underweight, mostly because they belong to the poorest economic households. The spatial analysis shows that the north-eastern state of Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh was a higher prevalence of women’s asthma and heart diseases and central regions have a higher prevalence of child stunting, wasting, and infant mortality. The disparities in health between indigenous and non-indigenous populations are expanding owing to the distribution of various types of resources, demographic factors, and socioeconomic position. There is a need for policies and programs, especially for Scheduled Tribes, to promote their well-being in general, but also to reduce the child and maternal morbidity of the most vulnerable indigenous groups.

Keywords:

• inequalities
• malnutrition
• poverty
• asthma
• heart diseases
• stunting
• underweight

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments and analyzed the data: U.D and N.K; Wrote the paper: U.D, N.K, B.C, and P.K.

Availability of data and material

This research work was performed based on secondary data, which are freely available upon request at the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), India website (Source of data: http://rchiips.org/NFHS/index.shtml).

Ethics approval & consent to participate

This research does not have an ethical code because it was performed based on secondary data that is freely available upon request at the IIPS, India website (Source of data: http://rchiips.org/NFHS/index.shtml); thus, the author does not require any ethical clearance and consent to participate.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Ujjwal Das

Ujjwal Das were involved in the conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data; the drafting of the paper, revising it critically for intellectual content.

Nishamani Kar

Nishamani Kar were involved in the conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data; the drafting of the paper, revising it critically for intellectual content.

Barkha Chaplot

Barkha Chaplot were involved in the design, analysis and interpretation of the data; revising it critically for intellectual content. All authors approved the final version to be published.

Pawan Kumar

Pawan Kumar were involved in the design, analysis and interpretation of the data; revising it critically for intellectual content. All authors approved the final version to be published.