Characteristics and reproductive health needs of female 'Rural to Urban' migrants in Zambia
type: CreativeWork
description: Background Rural-to-urban migration has been a powerful trend in developing countries. When people migrate from rural to urban areas, they face problems of dislocation and need to adapt to new, often difficult surroundings. Consequently, they face many risks to their health, including their reproductive health. Few published analyses of DHS data have examined how migrants from rural areas differ from other residents in urban areas in their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and reproductive health needs. In Zambia, little is known of the reproductive intentions, knowledge regarding contraceptive use, and access to and use of existing reproductive health services of rural-to-urban migrants. We undertook this study to examine these issues. Methods Use was made of data from a sample of 8021 women aged 15-49 who were interviewed in the 1996 ZDHS. 1050 urban non-migrants and 247 recent rural-to-urban migrants were distinguished, from among the 3001 urban residents, by a standard answer regarding length of time spent in the current residence. Data on these migrants had not previously been published. Recent rural-to-urban migrants were those who had migrated to the urban area less than 4 years ago. Information regarding personal characteristics, reproductive history, knowledge and use of family planning methods, antenatal and delivery care and fertility preferences was extracted from the 1996 ZDHS data set, analyzed and compared between the two groups: urban non-migrants and recent rural-to-urban migrants. Analysis utilised standard descriptive and comparative statistical methods (Student's t test and the Z statistic to show differences between groups). Results The two groups differed in their personal characteristics and reproductive health behaviour. There were more illiterate women (42% vs 32%; p< 0.01) and fewer women with secondary or higher education (26% vs 47%; p<0.01) among recent rural-to-urban migrants. Knowledge of individual contraceptive methods (4…
abstract: Background Rural-to-urban migration has been a powerful trend in developing countries. When people migrate from rural to urban areas, they face problems of dislocation and need to adapt to new, often difficult surroundings. Consequently, they face many risks to their health, including their reproductive health. Few published analyses of DHS data have examined how migrants from rural areas differ from other residents in urban areas in their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and reproductive health needs. In Zambia, little is known of the reproductive intentions, knowledge regarding contraceptive use, and access to and use of existing reproductive health services of rural-to-urban migrants. We undertook this study to examine these issues. Methods Use was made of data from a sample of 8021 women aged 15-49 who were interviewed in the 1996 ZDHS. 1050 urban non-migrants and 247 recent rural-to-urban migrants were distinguished, from among the 3001 urban residents, by a standard answer regarding length of time spent in the current residence. Data on these migrants had not previously been published. Recent rural-to-urban migrants were those who had migrated to the urban area less than 4 years ago. Information regarding personal characteristics, reproductive history, knowledge and use of family planning methods, antenatal and delivery care and fertility preferences was extracted from the 1996 ZDHS data set, analyzed and compared between the two groups: urban non-migrants and recent rural-to-urban migrants. Analysis utilised standard descriptive and comparative statistical methods (Student's t test and the Z statistic to show differences between groups). Results The two groups differed in their personal characteristics and reproductive health behaviour. There were more illiterate women (42% vs 32%; p< 0.01) and fewer women with secondary or higher education (26% vs 47%; p<0.01) among recent rural-to-urban migrants. Knowledge of individual contraceptive methods (4…
author: Chinkoyo, Sebastian
language: en
keywords: Reproduction, Health, Childbirth -- Rural and Urban women -- Zambia
date published: 2012-06-15
date modified: 2026-07-27T22:06:18Z
provider: University of Zambia
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Zambia