Child undernutrition is widespread in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) and is associated with health and economic losses. Undernutrition is estimated to contribute to 3.1 million deaths per year in children less than 5 years of age. A complex causal and contextual factors contributing to child undernutrition have been assessed, but maternal depression, which could contribute to child undernutrition by interfering with the mother's child caring practice and ability, has been received little attention. The objective of this study was to assess the association between maternal postpartum depression symptoms and infant (5–10 months of age) stunting in northern Ethiopia. A community‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among mother–infant pairs (n = 232) between March and April 2018. Through interviewer‐administrated questionnaire, information on sociodemographic variables were collected, and maternal depression symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS≥13). Infants' length and weight were measured and converted to length and weight for age Z scores using the WHO growth standards. Breastfeeding was a norm, but the adequacy of complementary feeding practice was sub‐optimal. Only 25% of the infants met the minimum meal frequency (MMF), less than 10% met the minimum dietary diversity (MMD; 9%) or minimum acceptable diet (7%). Maternal depression was prevalent (22.8%) and was significantly associated with inappropriate complementary feeding and stunting (P < .05). Improving complementary feeding practices is central to preventing stunting in this and other settings. However, such efforts should integrate interventions that address maternal depression to improve child feeding and caring practices to effectively prevent stunting.
Child malnutrition is the leading public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in poor health and economic losses. Ethiopia has one of the highest child undernutrition rates in the world that occurs to multifaceted factors, including food insecurity. Thus, we performed a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence and risk factors for child undernutrition in largely food insecure areas of Ethiopia. Data were collected from 354 mother–child pairs from the Siraro district. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. Variables with a P-value of <0⋅05 in multivariate analysis were used to detect statistical significance at a 95 % confidence level. About 67 % of households are food insecure. The prevalence of stunting wasting and underweight were 42⋅7, 9⋅9 and 27⋅7 %, respectively. Female gender, higher age of the child (12–23 months v. 6–11 months), living in a household with five or more siblings, not getting therapeutic zinc supplement at least once, inadequate diet diversity, lack of growth monitoring service, and maternal own income increases the likelihood of child undernutrition. It can be concluded that child undernutrition is a severe public health problem in the study area. Improving primary healthcare services related to zinc supplementation, growth monitoring and promotion, and improving infant and child feeding practices can be considered as a strategy to address the problem.
Background Child undernutrition is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. The highest levels of stunting are found in food-insecure areas and insufficient evidence may impair the design of interventions to remedy the situation. Objective This study aimed to identify the most important factors contributing to undernutrition among children in households from food-insecure areas. Method A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in areas with high levels of food insecurity in Amhara and Oromia Regions from April 25 to June 15, 2018. A total of 464 mother-child dyads were included in the study. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors associated with stunting, wasting, and underweight separately. Results The mean (±SD) age of the children was 14.6 (±4.6) mo and 51.7% of children were female. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight among 6–23 mo children was 43.1%, 12.3%, and 27.3% respectively. Factors significantly associated with stunting were child age of 12–23 mo (vs 6–11 mo), female gender, having more siblings, lack of zinc supplement for diarrhea, inadequate diet diversity, and lack of iodized salt in complementary food. Similarly, child age of 12–23 mo, female gender, lack of zinc supplements, more siblings, low maternal income, and inadequate diet diversity were significantly associated with underweight. Conclusion The magnitude of child undernutrition was very high in the study areas. Our findings in these food-insecure areas support the need to emphasize improving appropriate child feeding practices and iodized salt utilization. Additionally, the economic empowerment of women and the improvement of primary health care services related to micronutrient supplementation and family spacing are important to address child undernutrition in the study area.
Background Improving nutritional care and support for people living with HIV (PLHIV) is an integral part of comprehensive HIV treatment according to the National Nutritional Strategy of Ethiopia. However, there is no adequate published study that assesses the nutritional care and support services for adult people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHIV) in this setting. Objective The objective of the study was to identify the existing nutritional care and support services and determine the challenges facing adults living with HIV at Hawassa Referral Hospital in southern Ethiopia. Methods A qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews and participant observation. Four FDGs were held and five in-depth interviews were conducted. A two-week participant observation was also conducted by trained nurses. All interviews and FDGs were tape-recorded and transcribed; those conducted in Amharic were translated back to English. Finally thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed. Results Most of the FDG participants were unsatisfied with their nutritional care and support services and expressed difficulty with disclosing their HIV status for fear of stigma and discrimination. The in-depth interviews and participant observation showed results similar to those of the FDG. Some key informants expressed a fear that such poor nutritional care and support may threaten the quality of life of people living with HIV and suggested that all stakeholders work on improving the services. Conclusion Current nutritional care and support services for people living with HIV are not well coordinated. They focus mainly on monthly supplementation of antiretroviral drugs and occasional handouts of food. The need to provide health education on antiretroviral drugs and nutrition, and to emphasise strategies aimed at improving the nutritional status of peoples living with HIV is critical. Furthermore, the study recommended strengthening the initiatives of some organisations regarding sustainable income-generating activities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.