Child and Household Social-Economic Vulnerability: Determinants Transition from Moderate and Critical Vulnerability Levels in Rural Uganda
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Childhood Vulnerability Journal
Abstract
The study aimed to determine the factors that affect transition from moderate and critical
levels of vulnerability to improved vulnerability status. The central argument of this paper
is that individual and household characteristics differ and therefore the effect of programmatic
interventions on vulnerability also differs. The assessment is based on a pre and
post study of a cohort of 17,484 vulnerable households from 35 districts in rural Uganda.
Vulnerability transition was studied at two levels; (i) any improvement of the vulnerability
score and (ii) improvement from critical level of vulnerability. The factors associated
with transition from any level of vulnerability were; region, disability of the child,
parenthood status, household size, age of the parent/guardian as well as participation in
the activities namely; economic strengthening, child protection and access to legal
services and family strengthening (p < 0.05). Similarly, the factors associated with transition
from critical vulnerability were; region, disability of child, parenthood status,
household size, as well as participation in the activities namely economic strengthening,
child protection and legal services and family strengthening (p < 0.05). In conclusion,
whereas interventions like economic strengthening, family strengthening, child protection,
and food security and nutrition were associated with improved vulnerability, the
characteristics of the individuals and the surrounding household characteristics play a
critical role in transition from vulnerability. We conclude that interventions alone are not
enough to support transition from vulnerability, but rather it is a combination and an
interplay of different influences including individual and household characteristics. There
is no ‘one size fits them all’ solution to child vulnerability improvement. This study
highlights the need to strive for solutions that recognize the unique characteristics, needs
and diversity among different vulnerable populations.
Description
Keywords
Child, Household vulnerability, Transition, Determinants
Citation
Walugembe, P., Wamala, R., Misinde, C., & Larok, R. (2019). Child and household social-economic vulnerability: Determinants transition from moderate and critical vulnerability levels in rural Uganda. Childhood Vulnerability Journal, 2(1), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41255-020-00011-y