The nexus of the risk of depression and residential mobility for urban poor mothers: New longitudinal evidence from Nairobi

Abstract

Introduction

In Africa, the nexus between mental well-being and residential mobility is understudied, especially in urban settings. World Health Organization estimates show that the African continent, as a whole, has some of the world's highest rates of postpartum depressive disorders. Understanding how residential mobility shapes the risk of depression among urban poor mothers in African contexts is of high importance to public health, given the competing, gendered, domestic demands that mothers face and the need to secure their families' livelihoods via job opportunities that cities offer.

Methods

We utilize observational survey data from the first four waves of the Jamaa na Afya ya Mtoto (JAMO) study (March 2022–October 2023). The study enrolled 1203 mothers aged 18–29 with at least one child 0–24 months, via simple random sampling, at Wave 1 to understand the relationships between marriage, kinship, and children's health and development outcomes in two urban informal settlements: Korogocho and Viwandani. Mental health data were collected among mothers using the CES-D-10 scale. In this study, we utilize longitudinal regressions to test whether changes in mothers' risk of depression are associated with changes in residential mobility, and vice versa.

Results

One in four women has experienced at least one residential movement over the study period in both informal settlements. There is an elevated risk of depression among women who move to Viwandani in particular, an informal settlement which borders Nairobi's industrial area and inhabited in majority by individuals operating in the neighboring industries. This risk appears to be driven mostly by mothers not born in Nairobi.

Conclusion

While residential mobility can operate as the path to personal, familial, and societal betterment in urban poor settings, the movement inevitably involves changes in neighborhood contexts and is associated with dislocation and stress.