Analysis of reproductive health of Kazakhstani women in the context of socio-economic inequality: risks and methods of overcoming it

Authors

  • Ainur A. Bakytzhanova Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan; Public Opinion Research Center, 54 Zhibek Zholy Street, Almaty 050002, Kazakhstan
  • Gulzhan T. Alimbekova Public Opinion Research Center, 54 Zhibek Zholy Street, Almaty 050002, Kazakhstan

Keywords:

reproductive behaviour, socio-economic inequality, Almaty, gender stereotypes, financial stability, socio-cultural factors, sociology of medicine

Abstract

The influence of socio-economic factors on the reproductive behaviour of women in Kazakhstan is analysed. The dependence of women’s reproductive attitudes on financial stability, cultural and gender stereotypes, as well as on access to medical services is revealed. The study uses survey and quantitative analysis methods. The results of the work show that a woman’s socio-economic status has a significant impact on her reproductive decisions. Women with high incomes have higher level of access to health services and are less influenced by stereotypes than women with lower incomes. The conclusion about the significant impact of socio-economic inequality on the reproductive behaviour of Kazakhstani women is substantiated. The importance of sociocultural aspect in reproductive health support programmes is emphasised. The study has significant scientific and practical value, since its results can be used to develop programmes aimed at increasing the availability of reproductive health services in Kazakhstan (adaptation of relevant medical programmes and development of educational initiatives aimed at supporting young women and economically vulnerable groups of the population).

Author Biographies

  • Ainur A. Bakytzhanova, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan; Public Opinion Research Center, 54 Zhibek Zholy Street, Almaty 050002, Kazakhstan

    PhD (sociology); doctoral student at the department of sociology and social work, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and project manager, Public Opinion Research Center

  • Gulzhan T. Alimbekova, Public Opinion Research Center, 54 Zhibek Zholy Street, Almaty 050002, Kazakhstan

    PhD (sociology); director, Public Opinion Research Center

References

  1. Hsu J, Berman P, Mills A. Reproductive health priorities: evidence from a resurce tracking analysis of official development assistance in 2009 and 2010. The Lancet. 2013;381(9879):177–282.
  2. Ravit M, Audibert M, Ridde V, De Leonzien M, Scantz C, Dumont A. Do free caesarean section policies increase in Benin and Mali? International Journal for Equity in Health. 2018;17(1):71. DOI: 10.1186/s12939-018-0789-x.
  3. Antonio S, Bapayeva G, Utepova G, Krstic J, Terzic S, Aimagambetova G, et al. Women’s knowledge and awareness of the effect of age on fertility in Kazakhstan. Sexes. 2020;1:60–71.
  4. Bailey MJ. More power to the pill: the impact of contraceptive freedom on women’s life cycle labor supply. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 2006;121:289–320. DOI: 10.1093/qje/121.1.289.
  5. Leridon H. Can assisted reproduction technology compensate for the natural decline in fertility with age? A model assessment. Human Reproduction. 2004;19:1548–1553. DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deh304.
  6. Kamiya Y. Women’s autonomy and reproductive health care utilisation: empirical evidence from Tajikistan. Health Policy. 2011;102:304–313. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2011.04.001.
  7. Dauletyarova M, Semenova Y, Kaylubaeva G, Manabaeva G, Khismetova Z, Akilzhanova Z, et al. Are women of East Kazakhstan satisfied with the quality of maternity care? Implementing the WHO tool to assess the quality of hospital services. Iranian Journal of Public Health [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2024 October 15];45:729–738.
  8. Danilovich N. Growing inequalities and reproductive health in transitional countries: Kazakhstan and Belarus. Journal of Public Health Policy [Internet]. 2010 [cited 2024 October 15];31(1):30–50. DOI: 10.1057/jphp.2009.47.
  9. Zagidullina GN, Omirbaeva BS. Analiz chastnykh raskhodov na zdravookhranenie v Kazakhstane i predlozheniya po ikh snizheniyu. Analiticheskii obzor dlya formirovaniya politiki [Analysis of private healthcare costs in Kazakhstan and proposals to reduce them. Analytical review for policy formation]. Nur Sultan: Respublikanskii tsentr razvitiya zdravookhraneniya; 2019. 20 p. Russian.

Downloads

Published

2024-12-13

Issue

No. 4 (2024): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology

Section

From the Working Table of a Sociologist

License

The authors who are published in this journal agree to the following:

  1. The authors retain copyright on the work and provide the journal with the right of first publication of the work on condition of license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial. 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  2. The authors retain the right to enter into certain contractual agreements relating to the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. post it on the institutional repository, publication in the book), with the reference to its original publication in this journal.
  3. The authors have the right to post their work on the Internet (e.g. on the institutional store or personal website) prior to and during the review process, conducted by the journal, as this may lead to a productive discussion and a large number of references to this work. (See The Effect of Open Access.)

How to Cite

Analysis of reproductive health of Kazakhstani women in the context of socio-economic inequality: risks and methods of overcoming it. (2024). Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology, 4, 100-109. https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/sociology/article/view/6794