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Table 1 Description of MAL-ED study sites and mean WAMI scores

From: Measuring socioeconomic status in multicountry studies: results from the eight-country MAL-ED study

 Country

Urban/rural

Site description

Mean (SD) WAMI score

Brazil

Urban

Parque Universitário is an urban community inhabited by poor and middle class families. The community has approximately 33,000 people with 12% less than 5 years old. Of 288 children ≤3 years old, 31% have < -1 and 9% < -2 HAZ.

0.80 (0.08)

Peru

Peri-urban

The site is peri-urban with an economic base in agriculture, extraction of forest products, and fishing.

0.71 (0.11)

South Africa

Rural

The Dzimauli site is rural and mountainous, characterized by agricultural livelihood, low socioeconomic status, and poor infrastructure with waterfalls and many rivers across the villages. It is situated 25 km from the central business district.

0.70 (0.16)

Nepal

Peri-urban

The study site Bhaktapur Municipality and adjoining villages are peri-urban areas, with safe drinking water and toilet facilities. The main economic base is agriculture.

0.69 (0.12)

Bangladesh

Urban

Mirpur, an underprivileged community in Dhaka, is inhabited by poor and middle-class families. Residential and sanitary conditions are typical of any congested urban settlement. The investigators have ongoing research activities in the area.

0.55 (0.12)

Pakistan

Rural

The Molhan study site in district Naushahro Feroze is in the southern Sindh province. The site is surrounded by fertile plains near the Indus river, predominantly rural communities, agricultural occupations, low socioeconomic class, and poor infrastructure, including mud houses.

0.52 (0.17)

India

Urban

The study site is situated in a slum area in Vellore, which is a small city in Tamil Nadu in southern India. It is predominantly inhabited by poor families. The major occupation is manual labor in the market or construction work.

0.43 (0.10)

Tanzania

Rural

The Haydom area is ethnically and geographically diverse, situated at approximately 1700 meters above sea level and 300 kilometers from the nearest urban center. The study population is mainly agro-pastoralists.

0.22 (0.11)

  

OVERALL

0.58 (0.22)

  1. The WAMI score (range 0 to 1) measures household socioeconomic status, including access to improved Water/sanitation, Assets, Maternal education, and Income.