© 2002 by Oxford University Press
Field Reports/Field Report |
Differences in Welfare and Access to Care among Internally Displaced and Local Women: Seven Years after Relocation in Azerbaijan
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA 2 Relief International, Baku, Azerbaijan 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA
In refugee crises, aid programmes targeted at refugees and internally displaced persons can result in the standard of living of the refugees being higher than that of the local population, which can lead to animosity between the groups. The study investigated the differences in demographics, economic status, and use of reproductive health care services between local and internally displaced women in the same community. Approximately seven years after relocation, internally displaced women were less likely to own homes or electronic equipment, and were more likely to be unemployed. They did not appear economically disadvantaged on other indicators such as household income, money for basic living needs, and recent homelessness. Local women were more likely than displaced women to seek abortion services at the Ministry of Health while those women with a higher income were more likely to use private clinical services. Results suggested that there were no demographic differences between the two groups of women. Despite ongoing aid programmes, internally displaced women continue to be disadvantaged with regards to material wealth and were not using ministry of health clinics.
Received November 2001. Revised May 2002.