Comparative Analysis of Health and Socio-demographic status of Working and Non- Working Women and their Children

Abstract

Abstract Objective To conduct a comparative and retrospective study on the health and socio-demographic status of working and non-working women, as well as their children. Methods This study is a descriptive retrospective cross-sectional conducted in Badami Bagh, Lahore. The test population included mothers aged 25–45 years with children aged 2–18 years, comprising both working and non-working women with independent wages. Two-way ANOVA and t test were performed to find p value for significant variation and among the studied variable of health such as bone density, BMI, hemoglobin and calcium level and socioeconomic status by Kuppuswamy’s scale. Mini-Mental Scale Examination (MMSE) for women and Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC 17) for children was implied to assess mental health of participants. Results Working women had a bit high prevalence of osteopenia and hypocalcemia than non-working women as there was significant difference among the bone scan results of working and nonworking women demonstrated by two-way ANOVA p value 0.033 (< 0.05). But both groups and their children did not have too much difference in levels of hemoglobin, BMI and socioeconomic status with no significant difference showed by their p values. Conclusions While comparing the results of working, nonworking women and their children, this study concludes that there is not a significant variation among health and socio-demographic variables, both are with consistencies and divergences at some points.