Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective

Simona Simona

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

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Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective

Simona Simona

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 4)

Received: 30 May 2022 Accepted: 20 June 2022 Published: 5 July 2022

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Abstract

This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the influence of the social structure on maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the increased interest to consider broader social determinants of health in social, medical, and public health research. The concept of structural violence was deployed as an overarching framework that conceptualize aspects of the social structure which may prevent individual women from realizing their maternal health needs in terms of utilization of maternal healthcare services. The paper argues that gender norms, human rights violations and globalization may be regarded as such, and collectively, they may bolster in-adequate maternal healthcare utilization. The gender division of labor in most sub-Saharan African societies is such that women are assigned maternal and childbirth roles often without adequate accompanying resources to fulfil those roles. This phenomenon, coupled with pervasive violations of both civil and socio-economic rights as well as a stratified global economic and social system may be detrimental to maternal healthcare. It is critical though, that further research uses a holistic approach that does not only focus on the influence of structural violence on individual outcomes but also how individual capabilities can be harnessed to circumvent the influence of structural violence.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11
Page(s)	194-200
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Structural Violence, Maternal Health Care, sub-Saharan Africa, Gender Norms, Globalization, Human Rights

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Simona Simona. (2022). Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Social Sciences, 11(4), 194-200. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

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Simona Simona. Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(4), 194-200. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

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AMA Style

Simona Simona. Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Soc Sci. 2022;11(4):194-200. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11,
  author = {Simona Simona},
  title = {Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {4},
  pages = {194-200},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221104.11},
  abstract = {This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the influence of the social structure on maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the increased interest to consider broader social determinants of health in social, medical, and public health research. The concept of structural violence was deployed as an overarching framework that conceptualize aspects of the social structure which may prevent individual women from realizing their maternal health needs in terms of utilization of maternal healthcare services. The paper argues that gender norms, human rights violations and globalization may be regarded as such, and collectively, they may bolster in-adequate maternal healthcare utilization. The gender division of labor in most sub-Saharan African societies is such that women are assigned maternal and childbirth roles often without adequate accompanying resources to fulfil those roles. This phenomenon, coupled with pervasive violations of both civil and socio-economic rights as well as a stratified global economic and social system may be detrimental to maternal healthcare. It is critical though, that further research uses a holistic approach that does not only focus on the influence of structural violence on individual outcomes but also how individual capabilities can be harnessed to circumvent the influence of structural violence.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective
AU  - Simona Simona
Y1  - 2022/07/05
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11
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AB  - This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the influence of the social structure on maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the increased interest to consider broader social determinants of health in social, medical, and public health research. The concept of structural violence was deployed as an overarching framework that conceptualize aspects of the social structure which may prevent individual women from realizing their maternal health needs in terms of utilization of maternal healthcare services. The paper argues that gender norms, human rights violations and globalization may be regarded as such, and collectively, they may bolster in-adequate maternal healthcare utilization. The gender division of labor in most sub-Saharan African societies is such that women are assigned maternal and childbirth roles often without adequate accompanying resources to fulfil those roles. This phenomenon, coupled with pervasive violations of both civil and socio-economic rights as well as a stratified global economic and social system may be detrimental to maternal healthcare. It is critical though, that further research uses a holistic approach that does not only focus on the influence of structural violence on individual outcomes but also how individual capabilities can be harnessed to circumvent the influence of structural violence.
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Author Information

Simona Simona

Department of Social Work and Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

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APA Style

Simona Simona. (2022). Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Social Sciences, 11(4), 194-200. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Simona Simona. Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(4), 194-200. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Simona Simona. Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective. Soc Sci. 2022;11(4):194-200. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11,
  author = {Simona Simona},
  title = {Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {4},
  pages = {194-200},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221104.11},
  abstract = {This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the influence of the social structure on maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the increased interest to consider broader social determinants of health in social, medical, and public health research. The concept of structural violence was deployed as an overarching framework that conceptualize aspects of the social structure which may prevent individual women from realizing their maternal health needs in terms of utilization of maternal healthcare services. The paper argues that gender norms, human rights violations and globalization may be regarded as such, and collectively, they may bolster in-adequate maternal healthcare utilization. The gender division of labor in most sub-Saharan African societies is such that women are assigned maternal and childbirth roles often without adequate accompanying resources to fulfil those roles. This phenomenon, coupled with pervasive violations of both civil and socio-economic rights as well as a stratified global economic and social system may be detrimental to maternal healthcare. It is critical though, that further research uses a holistic approach that does not only focus on the influence of structural violence on individual outcomes but also how individual capabilities can be harnessed to circumvent the influence of structural violence.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Structural Violence and Maternal Health Care in sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Perspective
AU  - Simona Simona
Y1  - 2022/07/05
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 194
EP  - 200
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221104.11
AB  - This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the influence of the social structure on maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the increased interest to consider broader social determinants of health in social, medical, and public health research. The concept of structural violence was deployed as an overarching framework that conceptualize aspects of the social structure which may prevent individual women from realizing their maternal health needs in terms of utilization of maternal healthcare services. The paper argues that gender norms, human rights violations and globalization may be regarded as such, and collectively, they may bolster in-adequate maternal healthcare utilization. The gender division of labor in most sub-Saharan African societies is such that women are assigned maternal and childbirth roles often without adequate accompanying resources to fulfil those roles. This phenomenon, coupled with pervasive violations of both civil and socio-economic rights as well as a stratified global economic and social system may be detrimental to maternal healthcare. It is critical though, that further research uses a holistic approach that does not only focus on the influence of structural violence on individual outcomes but also how individual capabilities can be harnessed to circumvent the influence of structural violence.
VL  - 11
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download