Socio-Economic Background Of Households and Health Status of Young Children (3-5 Years of Age) “A Case Study of Village Battle-Ballian, Udhampur”

Abstract

Existing literature suggests that health status is multi-dimensional; a result of complex causes such as socio-demographic factors (household amenities, food intakes of child, overall hygiene of the child, immunization status), environmental, genetic and biomedical factors and varies over the life cycle, implying intergenerational health effects. Studies show that health in early life has substantial effects on health and wellbeing throughout the entire life course. Literature shows that better-off people both socially and economically tend to be in better health and healthier people are more productive. Studies on intergenerational transmission of health report positive correlation between favorable maternal characteristics and survival probabilities of their children. Recognizing the multiplicity of pathways, the bidirectional nature of causes and effects between health status and economic development, it is quite possible to attempt a review on socioeconomic background of the household and health status of young children (36 months to 71 months) issues in one study. This study therefore focuses on the effects of parental socio-economic status (SES) on child health. Main focus of this paper is to find the effect of socio-economic background of the household as an indicator of SES and examine its impact on child health outcomes for children aging 3 to 5 years. Socio-economic status of household affects child development and better health as well as child development contribute to Economic Development of an Economy.