Characteristics of Most Vulnerable Children and Their Guardians That Determine Service Use in a Tanzanian Social Service Agency

Abstract

The study used pre-existing data on the most vulnerable children’s (MVC’s) and their guardians’ socio-demographic information and the services they received from Pastoral Activities and Services for People With AIDS Dar es Salaam Archdiocese (PASADA) services agency in Tanzania. The purpose was to determine the relationships between the characteristics of these vulnerable children and their guardians and receipt of three types of services provided by an agency. The multivariate regressions revealed that the MVC’s age and guardians’ number of dependents increased the odds of receiving school-related services. In the basic needs services model, coefficient of male MVC significantly related to increased odds of receiving basic needs. In the psychosocial services model, male MVC were 65% less likely to receive psychosocial support than females. Similar to the results for the school-related services model, but not the basic needs model, months receiving services statistically increased the odds of receiving psychosocial support. Similar to both previous models, the number of reasons for being a MVC was positively related to receiving psychosocial support services (odds ratio = 1.88, p < .001). The study has identified MVC and guardian characteristics that relate to specific types of services MVC received in the agency. This information can assist MVC care agencies to refine their assessment procedures for effective interventions for Tanzania’s MVC.