The role of maternal employment in explaining inequalities in child nutritional status in Cameroon: a decomposition approach

Purpose The burden of malnutrition continues to be a public health concern in Cameroon, as it is the case in most developing nations. The research examines how employment status influences child undernutrition, and identifies underlying factors contributing to nutritional disparities between children of employed and unemployed mothers. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes data from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey to examine child nutritional status, assessed using a binary variable indicating whether a child is underweight. Logistic regressions were performed to identify the determinants of underweight status among children in Cameroon. Additionally, the Multivariate Decomposition for Nonlinear Response Models was employed to identify underlying factors contributing to nutritional disparities between children of employed and unemployed mothers. Findings The study finds that children of employed mothers are more likely to be underweight than those of unemployed mothers, with a statistically significant prevalence gap of 0.0325. Of this disparity, 68.07% is attributed to coefficient effects, indicating differences in how factors influence child nutrition, while 31.93% is due to endowment effects, reflecting differences in observable characteristics. These results emphasize the need for targeted interventions, such as enhancing maternal and child health programs specifically designed for employed mothers, as equalizing access to resources alone may not suffice. Originality/value The study complements the extant literature by assessing the role of maternal employment in explaining inequalities in child nutritional status in Cameroon using a decomposition approach.