Socio-demographic Determinants of Vitamin A Supplementation in Bangladesh: Evidences from Recent Bangladesh Demographic & Health Surveys, 2007 & 2011

Abstract

Objectives: Alarmingly, according to the Bangladesh Demographic & Health Surveys, there is an absolute decline of 24 per cent in VAS supplementation from 2007 to 2011. So, this study tries to explore the socio-demographic causes of receipt of Vitamin A in Bangladesh in 2007 and 2011. Methods: Both Bivariate and Multivariate analyses were carried out on two recent Bangladesh Demographic & Health Surveys, 2007 and 2011 data using SAS software to explore the association between socio-demographic factors and Vitamin A supplementation. Results: After adjusting for related socio-economic and demographic factors, parent’s education, and among mass media channels, television seems to have an important role in predicting receipt of Vitamin A, (Prevalence Ratio [PR]: 1.0973, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.0499-1.1469) in BDHS 2011. Similarly, in BDHS 2007, also those who watched television were more likely to have received vitamin A in a multivariate model, adjusting for potential confounders (Prevalence Ratio [PR]: 1.0542, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.0304-1.0784). Conclusions: It was found that exposure to television is strongly associated with the receipt of Vitamin A. Special efforts are required to ensure that the coverage of the national vitamin A programme is increased further so that the most vulnerable children are also better protected against morbidity, mortality, and blindness.It was observed that after adjusting for background socio-economic covariates, exposure to communication was found to be significant factors predicting the receipt of Vitamin A.