Mediating effects of women’s empowerment on dietary diversity during pregnancy in Central West Ethiopia: A structural equation modelling

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of pregnant women in West Shewa zone, Ethiopia (n = 1,383).

Variables	Frequency	Percentage/Mean (SD)
Demographic characteristics
Women’s education level
Illiterate	283	20.5
Primary	484	35.0
Secondary and above	616	44.5
Residence
Rural	531	38.4
Urban	852	61.6
Women’s occupation
Government employee	290	21.0
Private employee	376	27.2
Farmer	285	20.5
Housewife	402	29.1
Student	30	2.2
Household wealth index
Low	487	35.2
Middle	446	32.3
High	450	32.5
Women’s empowerment dimensions
Household decision making power (mean, out of 0–4 total points)		3.6 (1.1)
Economic (mean, out of 0–4 total points)		2.5 (1.4)
Psychological (mean, out of 0–6 total points)		4.3 (1.5)
Time (mean, out of 0–4 total points)		2.9 (1.0)

Table 2. Dietary diversity of pregnant women in West Shewa zone, Ethiopia (n = 1,383).

Variables	Frequency (n)	Percentage (%)
Dietary diversity
Inadequate	855	61.8
Adequate	528	38.2
Consumed food groups	First round n (%)	Second round n (%)	Both rounds n (%)
Grains, white roots and tubers, and plantains	1,383 (100)	1,382 (99.9)	1,382 (99.9)
Pulses	1,182 (85.5)	1,110 (80.3)	953 (68.9)
Nuts and seeds	2 (0.1)	22 (1.6)	0 (0.00)
Dairy	586 (42.4)	578 (41.8)	243 (17.6)
Meat, poultry and fish	296 (21.4)	317 (22.9)	80 (5.8)
Eggs	275 (19.9)	312 (22.6)	67 (4.9)
Dark green leafy vegetables	452 (32.7)	463 (33.5)	175 (12.7)
Other vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables	356 (25.7)	471 (34.1)	113 (8.2)
Other vegetables	1,374 (99.4)	1,300 (94.0)	1,291 (93.4)
Other fruits	273 (19.7)	432 (31.2)	120 (8.7)

Table 3. Factor analyses results of women’s empowerment items in West Shewa zone, Ethiopia, 2021 (n = 1,383).

Dimensions	Items	Factor loadings (EFA)	Factor loadings (CFA)
Household decision-making power	Decision on what food to buy and consume (d1)	0.732	0.918
	Decision on food prepared every day (d2)	0.784	0.991
	Decision on own healthcare (d3)	0.663	0.927
	Decision on daily needs household purchases (d4)	0.763	0.943
Economic	Engagement with cash income activities (ec1)	0.891	0.867
	Cash savings of own (ec2)	0.574	0.797
	Decision on own earning use (ec3)	0.692	0.933
	Direct access to household money for use (ec4)	0.591	0.778
Psychological	Self confidence in problem solving (p1)	0.514	0.733
	Feeling as important household member (p2)	0.790	0.933
	Feeling household members respect your opinion (p3)	0.822	0.876
Time	Daily time expenditure on housework (t1)	0.810	0.992
	Time spent on housework the previous day (t2)	0.884	0.847

Figure 1. SEM results of the mediation effects of women’s empowerment in the relation between pregnant women’s education and dietary diversity during pregnancy.

Table 4. Direct and indirect effects of pregnant women’s education on dietary diversity during pregnancy in West Shewa zone, Ethiopia (n = 1,383).

Effect	Empowerment dimension	Coefficient	p value
Total effect		0.115	<0.05
Direct effect		0.003	>0.05
Total indirect effect		0.113	<0.001
Indirect effect through	Household decision making power	0.026	>0.05
	Economic	−0.003	>0.05
	Psychological	0.074	<0.001
	Time	0.016	<0.05