Measuring equitable gender norms via cross-country mobile phone surveys
1
Laterite, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1324
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
restrictive gender norms are one of the key determinants of social barriers to health equity. however, research on the relationship between gender norms and health often faces measurement and data collection challenges. few studies employ a valid and reliable survey instrument to quantify gender norms in multi-country contexts.[1,2] this study addresses this gap by estimating the population-level prevalence of equitable gender norms in bangladesh, colombia, and uganda through mobile phone surveys.
METHODS:
mobile phone panel surveys, using an interactive voice response interview method, were conducted among adults aged over 18 years in the respective countries in 2023. sampling followed a random digit dialing method to target a nationally representative sample across six age-sex strata. gender norms were measured with a 22- and 27-item questionnaire adapted from the gender equitable men (gem) scale.[3] we used descriptive analyses and multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the prevalence of equitable gender norms and examine associations with sociodemographic characteristics.
RESULTS:
the surveys contained 2717, 5912, and 4813 complete responses from bangladesh, colombia, and uganda, respectively. overall, colombia consistently had more equitable endorsements than bangladesh and uganda with variation across thematic areas. higher educational attainment was consistently associated with more equitable norms across countries. urban residence was positively associated with equitable norms in uganda but negatively associated in colombia. women in bangladesh reported more equitable norms than men, while the opposite was observed in uganda.
CONCLUSIONS:
this study demonstrates the feasibility of using mobile phone surveys to measure gender norms at scale in multi-country contexts. future studies addressing gender norms’ influence on health outcomes could benefit from our country-specific questionnaires, mobile survey procedures, and analytical strategies. more research is needed to explore gender measures as predictors of health outcomes and strategies to improve representation of minority groups, especially when using remote methods.
restrictive gender norms are one of the key determinants of social barriers to health equity. however, research on the relationship between gender norms and health often faces measurement and data collection challenges. few studies employ a valid and reliable survey instrument to quantify gender norms in multi-country contexts.[1,2] this study addresses this gap by estimating the population-level prevalence of equitable gender norms in bangladesh, colombia, and uganda through mobile phone surveys.
METHODS:
mobile phone panel surveys, using an interactive voice response interview method, were conducted among adults aged over 18 years in the respective countries in 2023. sampling followed a random digit dialing method to target a nationally representative sample across six age-sex strata. gender norms were measured with a 22- and 27-item questionnaire adapted from the gender equitable men (gem) scale.[3] we used descriptive analyses and multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the prevalence of equitable gender norms and examine associations with sociodemographic characteristics.
RESULTS:
the surveys contained 2717, 5912, and 4813 complete responses from bangladesh, colombia, and uganda, respectively. overall, colombia consistently had more equitable endorsements than bangladesh and uganda with variation across thematic areas. higher educational attainment was consistently associated with more equitable norms across countries. urban residence was positively associated with equitable norms in uganda but negatively associated in colombia. women in bangladesh reported more equitable norms than men, while the opposite was observed in uganda.
CONCLUSIONS:
this study demonstrates the feasibility of using mobile phone surveys to measure gender norms at scale in multi-country contexts. future studies addressing gender norms’ influence on health outcomes could benefit from our country-specific questionnaires, mobile survey procedures, and analytical strategies. more research is needed to explore gender measures as predictors of health outcomes and strategies to improve representation of minority groups, especially when using remote methods.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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