Gender differentials in the timing of measles vaccination in rural India

Anu Rammohan; Niyi Awofeso; Kazi Iqbal

Volume 30 - Article 67 | Pages 1825–1848

Gender differentials in the timing of measles vaccination in rural India

By Anu Rammohan, Niyi Awofeso, Kazi Iqbal

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Date received:	08 Jul 2013
Date published:	11 Jun 2014
Word count:	3433
Keywords:	age appropriateness, gender, India, Measles vaccination
DOI:	10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.67
Additional files:	readme.30-67 (text file, 1 kB)
	demographic-research.30-67 (do file, 25 kB)

Abstract

Background: Measles is a highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease. Gender differences in measles vaccination outcomes have been widely reported in India.

Objective: An overlooked factor is whether female children are less likely to be vaccinated age-appropriately.

Methods: In this paper we use data from the nationally representative 2008 District Level Household Survey (DLHS) to analyse if there are any gender differences in the propensity to vaccinate a child for measles, and, among the vaccinated sample, whether there are any gender differences in the probability of age-appropriate measles vaccination.

Results: Our analysis confirms that girls have both a significantly lower probability of being vaccinated and of being vaccinated age-appropriately.

Author's Affiliation

Anu Rammohan - University of Western Australia, Australia [Email]
Niyi Awofeso - University of Western Australia, Australia [Email]
Kazi Iqbal - Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Burkina Faso [Email]