Table 2 Descriptions of variables and measurements for the multilevel logistic regression analysis in the Gamo Zone, southern Ethiopia, 2022
Variables | Descriptions | Measurements |
|---|---|---|
Dependent variable | Â | Â |
Antenatal care | Proportion having received antenatal care during most recent pregnancy | Those attending antenatal care were coded as ‘1,’ ‘0’ otherwise |
Institutional birth | Proportion giving birth in a health facility | Those giving birth in a health facility were coded as ‘1,’ ‘0’ otherwise |
Postnatal care | Proportion receiving postnatal care after delivery | Those receiving postnatal care were coded as ‘1,’ ‘0’ otherwise |
Level 2 (higher level) independent variable | Communal (cluster level) variable | |
Climatic zone | The usual place of residence | The three common agro-ecological zones: Highland, Midland and Lowland |
Level-1 (lower-level) independent variables | Individual level variables | |
Woman’s age | Age at interview (completed years) | Absolute continuous numbers |
Wealth quintiles | Household assets (e.g. home, land and livestock); wealth index was computed using principal component analysis | Wealth status was categorized and ranked from poorest to wealthiest in quintiles |
Education | Highest level of education attained | Ordinal variable based on the highest level of education attained (i.e. no formal education, primary education and secondary or higher) categorized into formal school attendance (lowest to highest) or no formal school attendance |
Mother’s occupation | Proportion working to earn money in addition to household chores | Occupation categorized as ‘earn money’ or ‘housewife’ |
Religion | Religious background | Each religion was entered and later recoded as ‘Orthodox Christian,’ ‘Protestant’ or ‘Other.’ ‘Other’ included choices they were too sparse for logistic regression |
Number of children | Number of children in household | Absolute numbers and letters categorized as ‘1 child’ or ‘ ≥ 2 children ‘ |
Awareness of danger signs | Proportion that knew the danger signs of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period | Those who successfully listed three danger signs were categorized as ‘good awareness,’ ‘having poor awareness’ otherwise |
Awareness of birth preparedness | Proportion that understood birth preparedness | Those who mentioned three of the birth-preparedness components were categorized as ‘good awareness,’ ‘having poor awareness’ otherwise |
Practice birth preparedness | Proportion that made prior arrangements for birth and complications | Those who made at least three basic birth preparedness steps were categorized as ‘well prepared,’ ‘less prepared’ otherwise |