Characterizing multidimensional poverty in Migori County, Kenya and its association with depression

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 11; p. e0259848
• Main Authors: Starnes, Joseph R, Di Gravio, Chiara, Irlmeier, Rebecca, Moore, Ryan, Okoth, Vincent, Rogers, Ash, Ressler, Daniele J, Moon, Troy D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 16.11.2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Agriculture; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Depression, Mental; Deprivation; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Economic aspects; Emotional disorders; Female; Households; Humans; Kenya; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Mood disorders; Multidimensional methods; People and Places; Polls & surveys; Population; Poverty; Poverty - statistics & numerical data; Prevalence; Psychological aspects; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk factors; Rural areas; Social Sciences; Software; Supervision; Kenya; United States > US; Tennessee; Nashville Tennessee; Africa
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259848

Narrow, unidimensional measures of poverty often fail to measure true poverty and inadequately capture its drivers. Multidimensional indices of poverty more accurately capture the diversity of poverty. There is little research regarding the association between multidimensional poverty and depression. A cross-sectional survey was administered in five sub-locations in Migori County, Kenya. A total of 4,765 heads of household were surveyed. Multidimensional poverty indices were used to determine the association of poverty with depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) depression screening tool. Across the geographic areas surveyed, the overall prevalence of household poverty (deprivation headcount) was 19.4%, ranging from a low of 13.6% in Central Kamagambo to a high of 24.6% in North Kamagambo. Overall multidimensional poverty index varied from 0.053 in Central Kamagambo to 0.098 in North Kamagambo. Of the 3,939 participants with depression data available, 481 (12.2%) met the criteria for depression based on a PHQ-8 depression score ≥10. Poverty showed a dose-response association with depression. Multidimensional poverty indices can be used to accurately capture poverty in rural Kenya and to characterize differences in poverty across areas. There is a clear association between multidimensional poverty and depressive symptoms, including a dose effect with increasing poverty intensity. This supports the importance of multifaceted poverty policies and interventions to improve wellbeing and reduce depression.