TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining Wealth Trends in Kombewa, Kenya
AU - McLorg, Alizée
AU - Omolo, Kennedy
AU - Sifuna, Peter
AU - Shaw, Andrea
AU - Walia, Bhavneet
AU - Larsen, David A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the Kombewa HDSS team, including the community health workers, who collected this data and made this analysis possible.
Funding Information:
Alizée McLorg was funded through a fellowship from the Crown Wise Research Fund. David Larsen was funded by an internal grant from SUNY Upstate Medical University Institute for Global Health and Translational Science.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - This study examined wealth trends in a rural Kenyan community between 2011 and 2018. Understanding wealth trends is important for understanding health outcomes and overall well-being of vulnerable communities, and for informing economic and health policy that can improve specific wealth challenges. Information regarding household materials, assets, education, and mortality from 20,370 households in the Kombewa Health and Demographic Surveillance System was used. Three indices were developed and compared to quantify wealth: a principal component analysis of assets, a multiple correspondence analysis of assets, and the multidimensional poverty index. Wealth quintiles and levels of deprivation relating to socioeconomic status were then created and analyzed over time. Wealth measured by the asset-based indices, suggested an increase in wealth during the assessment period with the percentage of households in the wealthiest quintile increasing from 19 to 23%. The multidimensional poverty index, however, suggests no change in socioeconomic status over time. Among other factors, a lack of access to sanitation and improved water seems to be the main justification. Our results indicate that households are accumulating assets, but their increased accumulation is not translating to changes in living conditions known to improve health. Hence, while houses may be getting wealthier, they may not necessarily be getting healthier.
AB - This study examined wealth trends in a rural Kenyan community between 2011 and 2018. Understanding wealth trends is important for understanding health outcomes and overall well-being of vulnerable communities, and for informing economic and health policy that can improve specific wealth challenges. Information regarding household materials, assets, education, and mortality from 20,370 households in the Kombewa Health and Demographic Surveillance System was used. Three indices were developed and compared to quantify wealth: a principal component analysis of assets, a multiple correspondence analysis of assets, and the multidimensional poverty index. Wealth quintiles and levels of deprivation relating to socioeconomic status were then created and analyzed over time. Wealth measured by the asset-based indices, suggested an increase in wealth during the assessment period with the percentage of households in the wealthiest quintile increasing from 19 to 23%. The multidimensional poverty index, however, suggests no change in socioeconomic status over time. Among other factors, a lack of access to sanitation and improved water seems to be the main justification. Our results indicate that households are accumulating assets, but their increased accumulation is not translating to changes in living conditions known to improve health. Hence, while houses may be getting wealthier, they may not necessarily be getting healthier.
KW - Health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS)
KW - Kenya
KW - Low and middle income countries (LMIC)
KW - Multidimensional poverty index (MPI)
KW - Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA)
KW - Principal component analysis (PCA)
KW - Socioeconomic status (SES)
KW - Wealth index
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U2 - 10.1007/s11205-021-02677-9
DO - 10.1007/s11205-021-02677-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103676638
SN - 0303-8300
VL - 157
SP - 631
EP - 651
JO - Social Indicators Research
JF - Social Indicators Research
IS - 2
ER -