Socioeconomic inequality in maternal healthcare: An analysis of regional variation in Bangladesh

Mohammad Habibullah Pulok; Jalal Uddin; Ulrika Enemark; Muhammad Zakir Hossin

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.06.004

Socioeconomic inequality in maternal healthcare: An analysis of regional variation in Bangladesh

Health Place. 2018 Jul:52:205-214. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jun 27.

Authors

Mohammad Habibullah Pulok¹, Jalal Uddin², Ulrika Enemark³, Muhammad Zakir Hossin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia; CMCRC Health Market Quality Research Program, GPO Box 970, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia; The Canadian Centre for Health Economics (CCHE), the University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6. Electronic address: mohammad.pulok@chere.uts.edu.au.
² Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heritage Hall 460E, 1401 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. Electronic address: jalal@uab.edu.
³ Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2 - Building 1260, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic address: ue@ph.au.dk.
⁴ Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18B, Solna, 17165 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: zakir.hossin@ki.se.

PMID: 29960144
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.06.004

Abstract

Socioeconomic inequality in the utilisation of maternal healthcare services is well-documented in Bangladesh. However, the spatial dimension of this inequality is largely unexplored in the literature. This study examined the regional variation of wealth-related inequality in the utilisation of maternal healthcare services using data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014. The highest extent of pro-wealthy inequality was found in Chittagong and Sylhet for ANC services compared to Khulna and Rangpur where inequality was the lowest. Pro-wealthy inequality was the lowest in Rangpur while Dhaka and Barisal tended to have the greatest degree of inequality for delivery care services. Policy efforts aiming to tackle socioeconomic inequality in maternal healthcare should consider this spatial dimension of inequality in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Antenatal care; Bangladesh; Concentration index; Delivery care; Inequality.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Bangladesh
Female
Health Surveys
Healthcare Disparities / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Logistic Models
Maternal Health Services / statistics & numerical data*
Poverty / statistics & numerical data*
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care / statistics & numerical data
Rural Population / statistics & numerical data*
Social Class*
Socioeconomic Factors
Urban Population / statistics & numerical data*