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About Annual Meeting
Predictors of Nigerian Women’s Decisions about Healthcare: The Role of Age and Generational Changes
Mon, August 18, 8:30 to 10:10am, TBAAbstract
As the 2015 draws near, efforts are being intensified towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria and improving Nigeria’s women’s living standards and decision-making autonomy are central to achieving the MDGs. Women with greater decision-making autonomy are better able to advocate for, and to utilize, modern healthcare services for themselves (Singh et al. 2012) and for their children (Antai 2012). The link between women’s decision-making autonomy and health outcomes demonstrates the need for adequate understanding of the various factors influencing women’s decision-making autonomy in Nigeria, most especially decisions related to health. Using the most recent nationally-representative survey data in Nigeria – the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), and employing the life course perspectives, the present study examines Nigerian women’s agency in issues related to health, how women’s decision-making power in the area of health changes across the lifespan, and how younger cohorts of Nigerian women compare to their older counterpart in their health-related decision-making authority. The analyses reveal that while more than half of Nigerian women do not have a say in their healthcare decisions, a significant minority of them (about 9%) are able to independently decide on their healthcare. The study also shows that both age and cohort membership matter in Nigerian women’s exercise of agency in healthcare decisions and further demonstrates the significant effects of women’s socioeconomic status, religious identification, polygyny, and number of surviving children in women’s health-related decision-making autonomy. The implications of these findings for Nigerian women’s empowerment and health are discussed.