Gender Differences in Perception and Care-seeking for Illness of Newborns in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Open accessAbstract
Although gender-based health disparities are prevalent in India, very little data are available on care-seeking patterns for newborns. In total, 255 mothers were prospectively interviewed about their perceptions and action surrounding the health of their newborns in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Perception of illness was significantly lower in incidence (adjusted odds ratio=0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.94) among households with female versus male newborns. While the overall use of healthcare providers was similar across gender, the average expenditure for healthcare during the neonatal period was nearly four-fold higher in households with males (Rs 243.3 +/- 537.2) compared to females (Rs 65.7 +/- 100.7) (p=0.07). Households with female newborns used cheaper public care providers whereas those with males preferred to use private unqualified providers perceived to deliver more satisfactory care. These results suggest that, during the neonatal period, care-seeking for girls is neglected compared to boys, laying a foundation for programmes and further research to address gender differences in neonatal health in India.
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In the Indian context, due to traditional gender preferences, cheaper public care providers are sought by households for girls, while for boys private qualified providers are consulted, more money is spent and greater distances are travelled if necessary.
“due to traditional gender preferences, cheaper public care providers are sought by households for girls, while for boys private qualified providers are consulted, more money is spent and greater distances are travelled, if necessary [25–27].”
From The gendered experience with respect to health-seeking behaviour in an urban slum of Kolkata, India (2018) · cites this paper as [26]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA few quantitative studies report gender differences in health-seeking behaviour in Indian urban slums.
“A few quantitative studies report gender differences in health-seeking behaviour in Indian urban slums [26, 28].”
From The gendered experience with respect to health-seeking behaviour in an urban slum of Kolkata, India (2018) · cites this paper as [26]
The Introduction describes a quantitative study of gender differences in neonatal care-seeking, and the Abstract reports differences in care patterns. But the Methods identify the study site as rural Shivgarh, Uttar Pradesh—not an Indian urban slum. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
State of newborn health in India
Sankar, M. J., Neogi, S. B., Sharma, J., Chauhan, M., Srivastava, R., Prabhakar, P. K., Khera, A., Kumar, R., Zodpey, S., & Paul, V. K. (2016) · Journal of Perinatology · doi:10.1038/jp.2016.183 · Cited by 344 · see citing works
The gendered experience with respect to health-seeking behaviour in an urban slum of Kolkata, India
Das, M., Angeli, F., Krumeich, A. J. S. M., & van Schayck, O. C. P. (2018) · International Journal for Equity in Health · doi:10.1186/s12939-018-0738-8 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
- Authors
- Willis, J. R., Kumar, V., Mohanty, S., Singh, P., Singh, V., Baqui, A. H., Awasthi, S., Singh, J., Santosham, M., & Darmstadt, G. L.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- King George's Medical University (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Darmstadt, Gary L
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
- Published
- 2009-09-09
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 62-71
- ISSN
- 1606-0997 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2761808
- OpenAlex
- W2144751912
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 5.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Health Population and Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion)
- Bioline International (Bioline International) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- United States Agency for International Development (GHS-A-00-03-00019-00)
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (GHS-A-00-03-00019-00)
- Johns Hopkins University
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Keywords
- gender differences, newborn health, care-seeking behavior, rural Uttar Pradesh, maternal perceptions
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child Health Services, Family Characteristics, Female, Humans, India, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mothers, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Perception, Prejudice, Rural Health, Rural Population, Sex Distribution, Rural Health Services, Young Adult
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