Urban-Rural Disparities in Child Stunting in Zambia: The Moderating Role of Socio-Economic Factors
(2026) EKHS01 20241Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- This study examines urban-rural child stunting disparities in Zambia, a country characterized by a persistent 35% stunting prevalence despite rapid urbanization. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework，which attributes health inequalities to structural social and economic conditions，the analysis uses 2018 ZDHS data through stepwise logistic and stratified regressions. While rural children initially appear more disadvantaged, this gap reverses after adjusting for mother’s education and household wealth: urban children are actually 6.94% more likely to be stunted than their rural counterparts with identical socio-economic profiles. This reversal reflects the high cost of living and poor sanitation in informal settlements... (More)
- This study examines urban-rural child stunting disparities in Zambia, a country characterized by a persistent 35% stunting prevalence despite rapid urbanization. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework，which attributes health inequalities to structural social and economic conditions，the analysis uses 2018 ZDHS data through stepwise logistic and stratified regressions. While rural children initially appear more disadvantaged, this gap reverses after adjusting for mother’s education and household wealth: urban children are actually 6.94% more likely to be stunted than their rural counterparts with identical socio-economic profiles. This reversal reflects the high cost of living and poor sanitation in informal settlements increasing nutritional risks. Stratified results further show that secondary education provides a significant protective effect in rural areas, whereas urban settings require a higher level of education to achieve similar health outcomes. The findings emphasize that nutrition policies must move beyond geographic labels to address the specific structural barriers within urban slums and rural communities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9226466
- author
- Yan, Chenxin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHS01 20241
- year
- 2026
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Stunting, Urban-rural disparities, Logistic regression, Socio-economic factors
- language
- English
- id
- 9226466
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-07 12:28:44
- date last changed
- 2026-09-07 12:28:44
@misc{9226466,
abstract = {{This study examines urban-rural child stunting disparities in Zambia, a country characterized by a persistent 35% stunting prevalence despite rapid urbanization. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework，which attributes health inequalities to structural social and economic conditions，the analysis uses 2018 ZDHS data through stepwise logistic and stratified regressions. While rural children initially appear more disadvantaged, this gap reverses after adjusting for mother’s education and household wealth: urban children are actually 6.94% more likely to be stunted than their rural counterparts with identical socio-economic profiles. This reversal reflects the high cost of living and poor sanitation in informal settlements increasing nutritional risks. Stratified results further show that secondary education provides a significant protective effect in rural areas, whereas urban settings require a higher level of education to achieve similar health outcomes. The findings emphasize that nutrition policies must move beyond geographic labels to address the specific structural barriers within urban slums and rural communities.}},
author = {{Yan, Chenxin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Urban-Rural Disparities in Child Stunting in Zambia: The Moderating Role of Socio-Economic Factors}},
year = {{2026}},
}