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Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study

Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study
Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study

Social vulnerability indices (SVI) can predict communities’ vulnerability and resilience to public health threats such as drought, food insecurity or infectious diseases. Parity has yet to be investigated as an indicator of social vulnerability in young women. We adapted an SVI score, previously used by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and calculated SVI for young urban South African women (n = 1584; median age 21.6, IQR 3.6 years). Social vulnerability was more frequently observed in women with children and increased as parity increased. Furthermore, young women classified as socially vulnerable were 2.84 times (95% CI 2.10–3.70; p < 0.001) more likely to report household food insecurity. We collected this information in 2018–2019, prior to the current global COVID-19 pandemic. With South Africa having declared a National State of Disaster in March 2020, early indicators suggest that this group of women have indeed been disproportionally affected, supporting the utility of such measures to inform disaster relief efforts.

Disaster planning, Parity, Social Protection, Urban health, Vulnerable populations, Women, Young adult
0197-5897
373-389
Ware, Lisa J.
74860e6c-ac74-44ae-bb62-a7a2032852ba
Kim, Andrew W.
c026309c-64eb-491b-9bdf-40338149ce00
Prioreschi, Alessandra
04875305-6e91-4199-98bb-8154707060c4
Nyati, Lukhanyo H.
18d7ac34-0c97-4f40-9195-5eee0a8ed7ff
Taljaard, Wihan
b4c362ce-429e-4976-a0c7-109a1039ac3f
Draper, Catherine E.
5032d1f5-0c2a-44be-8bdb-6e4967d49e14
Lye, Stephen J.
43a401cb-f979-40aa-a1c7-4583190d3414
Norris, Shane A.
1d346f1b-6d5f-4bca-ac87-7589851b75a4
Ware, Lisa J.
74860e6c-ac74-44ae-bb62-a7a2032852ba
Kim, Andrew W.
c026309c-64eb-491b-9bdf-40338149ce00
Prioreschi, Alessandra
04875305-6e91-4199-98bb-8154707060c4
Nyati, Lukhanyo H.
18d7ac34-0c97-4f40-9195-5eee0a8ed7ff
Taljaard, Wihan
b4c362ce-429e-4976-a0c7-109a1039ac3f
Draper, Catherine E.
5032d1f5-0c2a-44be-8bdb-6e4967d49e14
Lye, Stephen J.
43a401cb-f979-40aa-a1c7-4583190d3414
Norris, Shane A.
1d346f1b-6d5f-4bca-ac87-7589851b75a4

Ware, Lisa J., Kim, Andrew W., Prioreschi, Alessandra, Nyati, Lukhanyo H., Taljaard, Wihan, Draper, Catherine E., Lye, Stephen J. and Norris, Shane A. (2021) Social vulnerability, parity and food insecurity in urban South African young women: the healthy life trajectories initiative (HeLTI) study. Journal of Public Health Policy, 42 (3), 373-389. (doi:10.1057/s41271-021-00289-8).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Social vulnerability indices (SVI) can predict communities’ vulnerability and resilience to public health threats such as drought, food insecurity or infectious diseases. Parity has yet to be investigated as an indicator of social vulnerability in young women. We adapted an SVI score, previously used by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and calculated SVI for young urban South African women (n = 1584; median age 21.6, IQR 3.6 years). Social vulnerability was more frequently observed in women with children and increased as parity increased. Furthermore, young women classified as socially vulnerable were 2.84 times (95% CI 2.10–3.70; p < 0.001) more likely to report household food insecurity. We collected this information in 2018–2019, prior to the current global COVID-19 pandemic. With South Africa having declared a National State of Disaster in March 2020, early indicators suggest that this group of women have indeed been disproportionally affected, supporting the utility of such measures to inform disaster relief efforts.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 29 April 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 May 2021
Published date: 1 September 2021
Keywords: Disaster planning, Parity, Social Protection, Urban health, Vulnerable populations, Women, Young adult

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 453523
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453523
ISSN: 0197-5897
PURE UUID: dd7008c0-3cf9-458c-9314-44e722d3124e
ORCID for Shane A. Norris: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7124-3788

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Jan 2022 18:12
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:52

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Contributors

Author: Lisa J. Ware
Author: Andrew W. Kim
Author: Alessandra Prioreschi
Author: Lukhanyo H. Nyati
Author: Wihan Taljaard
Author: Catherine E. Draper
Author: Stephen J. Lye
Author: Shane A. Norris ORCID iD

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