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Contribution of between region and neighborhood variation of socioeconomic factors on the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting: a multilevel analysis of Tanzanian national surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2022

Deogratius Bintabara Open the ORCID record for Deogratius Bintabara [Opens in a new window]
Deogratius Bintabara*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania Tanrep Research Consultancy Limited, Dar es salaam, Tanzania
*
Email: bintabaradeo@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study aimed to assess to what extent differences in socioeconomic factors between regions correlate to dramatic disparities in the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) across Tanzania. The data from the 2004, 2010, and 2016 Tanzania Demographic Health Surveys were used in this analysis. The estimates from multilevel variance components for FGM/C were compared before and after adjusting for socioeconomic variables (residence, marital status, education, and wealth quintile) and age. The three-level structure of the sample sorted women into individual (level-1), neighborhood (level-2), and regional (level-3) categories. The pooled data included a total of 27587 women of reproductive age with a median age (IQR) of 29 (21–36) years. The random-effects results revealed that of the total age-adjusted variance in FGM/C, 76.7% was attributed to the between region and neighborhood differences. Despite the large between region variations, only 3.7% was explained by socioeconomic factors. Despite the large contribution of between region and neighborhood differences to variance in FGM/C prevalence, less of this variation was explained by socioeconomic factors. Therefore, it is possible that maternal and reproductive educational programs tailored to such neighborhood differences, beyond socioeconomic factors alone, could contribute to a radical shift in perspective for regions with high prevalence.

Keywords

Female genital mutilation/cuttingVariation of socioeconomicTanzania
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 55 , Issue 4 , July 2023 , pp. 767 - 778
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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