Effect of women's empowerment on their utilization of health services: A case of Nepal

Shanta Pandey, Gyanesh Lama, Haenim Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Over half a million women die annually due to maternity complications. Studies support that utilization of health services reduces maternal mortality. Using a nationally representative sample of 7878 previously pregnant women from Nepal we examined if gender empowerment is associated with health service use. Findings showed that three of the five indicators of empowerment - women's age at birth of their first child, their education and knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases - significantly increased utilization of health services, especially antenatal and delivery services. Women's opinion about wife beating and their participation in intra-household financial decisions were insignificant. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)554-573
Number of pages20
JournalInternational Social Work
Volume55
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012

Keywords

  • antenatal care use
  • gender empowerment
  • hospital delivery
  • maternal health
  • Nepal

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