Social Determinants Of Health Status In Uganda

Health status of individuals of great significance both because of the direct utility that health can provide and the productivity gain as a result of good health. The purpose of the study was to empirically establish the key factors influencing health status in Uganda. Specifically, examining the relationship between health status and socio-demographic, economic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Government of Uganda has been investing in health through acting on key Social Determinants of Health (SDH) such as household income and infrastructure as marked in the HSDP 2015/16-2019/20. However, evidence shows heavy burden of disease. The relationship between health status and the above SDH is not clear. Therefore, this necessitated the need to investigate the SDH. The study used Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2016/17 data. The study was based on the SDH framework to examine SDH Status. Four logistic regressions models were estimated i.e. model I, II, III and IV focusing on individuals aged 0-5, 6-14,15-59 and 60+ years respectively. The study used adjusted Wald test to test for individual Statistical significance of the regression coefficients and Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) test, to assess the goodness of fit. In reference to demographic factors the study establishes that Females aged 6-14, 15-59 and 60+ years were 1.29, 1.25, and 1.4 times more likely to be in poor health when compared to the males at P