Awareness and Characteristics of the Mothers of Malnourished Children Under 5 Years Old on South Tarawa, Kiribati in 2016: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood malnutrition is the primary cause of death in approximately 35% of all deaths among children under the age of 5 years. Considering the fact that the number of malnutrition cases from 2010 to 2014 in Kiribati ranged from 8.6% to 20%, mother mothers are the primary caretakers to these vulnerable and innocent children. As there is no any study till now, this descriptive study is conducted to determine the awareness and characteristics of the mothers of malnourished children under 5 years old on South Tarawa, Kiribati in 2016. Methodology:This quantitative cross-sectional study is conducted among 82 women with children under 5 years old who were identified as being malnourished in 11 public health clinics. A purposive sampling was used to achieve the participants for this study. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data. Those who met the study inclusion and exclusion criteria were invited to fill the questionnaire. Participants were informed about the aim and the procedure of the study using an information sheet. This data was exported to SPSS Version 22 for data cleaning and analysis.Results: Two thirds of the women in the study were between 19-32 years of age and about half of them pointed that their household's population was highest among 5-8 people. Participating mothers had low knowledge about breastfeeding, complementary feeding, dietary practice and immunization. About half of the mothers were not aware that the appropriate time to start complementary feeding is after 6 months old. 22 (26.8%) of the respondents stated they knew that a balanced diet was eating body building, energy and protective foods. Almost 80% of the mothers thought that a child between 2 to 4 years old should have more serves of protective foods in their meals. About (71%) of the mothers did not know that the use of BCG injection given to a child during birth is to protect against tuberculosis. Conclusion:This study highlighted the importance of mother awareness on children malnutrition in Kiribati. Health promotion should be reinforced at child welfare clinics, health facilities and at community level to improve parents' knowledge of the recommended infant and child feeding practices.