Determinants of Family Health Performance in Bangladesh: Evidence From MICS-6.

backgroundHealth developments are based on family-specific health traditions, which play a central role as a foundation of individuals' growth and development in Southeast Asia. Families can influence disease susceptibility and promote well-being by encouraging healthy habits, providing support and aiding in disease recovery. Moreover, education, economic conditions, access of hygiene latrines and cooking fuel affect individuals' health. Few studies have assessed family health as a composite construct in Bangladesh. There is a lack of research on how a family individual's risk factors contribute to overall family health performance.

methodsFamily- and country-specific data were obtained from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS-6). MICS data, which were gathered in partnership with UNICEF and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), are a trustworthy secondary data source. MICS offer statistically reliable and globally comparable statistics. For this study, descriptive statistics tools were used for univariate analysis. Multiple Regression models and Multinomial Logistic Regression models were used for assessing family health performance and identifying factors associated with family health performance.

resultsData from 24,000 families were used in this study, where 26.33% were from urban areas and 73.67% were from rural areas. The descriptive findings showed that 78.85% of families use traditional cook stoves for cooking their food. Moreover, 25.81% of families have availability for hand washing and 11.61% of children in families face diarrhoea under worst family health category. Furthermore, 59.50% of family head education level is primary or none and 25.79% of families belong to the poorest wealth category. Further, this study developed a family health score to determine which indicators contribute to various family health terms as "Worst family health," "Average family health," "Better family health," and "Excellent family health." The result of multiple linear regressions and multinomial logistic regression showed that family wealth, types of cook stoves used by families, education level of family head and electricity facilities significantly influence family health performance. This proves that family head education level, family wealth and cook stoves might be influential factors for family health performance.

conclusionsThis study aims to provide insights into family health conditions and identify various significant risk factors. The government must expand educational possibilities, raise public awareness of the value of education and, if at all feasible, mandate that all citizens complete a minimum education. Investments in clean cooking, electricity and education may support to improve family health.