Does Mothers' Awareness of Health and Nutrition Matter? A Case Study of Child Malnutrition in Marginalized Rural Community of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Maternal nutritional awareness might reduce the risk of malnutrition in children. This study assesses the impact of mothers' nutritional and health awareness (MNHA) on the nutritional status of pre-school children in rural South Punjab. Using a proportionate purposive simple random sampling technique we collect data with the help of a self-administered questionnaire on height, age, the weight of children, and socio-economic profile from 384 rural households in one of the marginalized districts of Punjab. The study applied the binary logistic regression model to compute the probability of malnutrition. The results indicate that malnutrition was high in the district (the prevalence rate for underweight is 46.1%, for stunting 34.83%, and for wasting is 15.49%). Around 91.84% of malnourished children belonged to the low MNHA category compared to medium (5.61%) and high (2.55%) MNHA categories. The results further show that the prevalence of moderate and severe stunting, wasting, and underweight in low MNHA categories was much higher with large differences compared to both medium and high MNHA categories. The binary logistic regression results depict that, across the household deprivation index (HDS), the odds of a child becoming malnourished were lower in households HDS-2 category (OR = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.89), and odds were also lower in households HDS-3 category (OR = 0.001, 95% CI: 0.001–0.16). Similarly, across the scores of MNHA index, the odds of malnutrition were lower among the children of those mothers who had medium MNHA (OR = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.002–1.24), and also the probability of child malnutrition was lower among the children of mothers who had high MNHA (OR = 0.008, 95% CI: 0.002–0.29). The study urges that well-resourced, targeted, and coordinated health and nutritional education and awareness programs are required to tackle malnutrition.

Key Challenges to Optimal Therapeutic Coverage and Maternal Utilization of CMAM Program in Rural Southern Pakistan: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

“…Not aligned well with local socio-cultural realities, the short-term global technical solution in the form of RUTFs and CMAM was implemented "under neoliberal governments and facilitated an increasingly inequitable economy with minimal state involvement in an increasingly individualistic social environment" [54] (p. 16). However, the permanent, long-term, sustainable solution to maternal child undernutrition lies in females' socioeconomic emancipation, and their health or nutrition literacy [55][56][57][58][59]. In addition, the inclusion of training of medical staff on respectful care is imperative.…”

Determinants of Infant Young Child Feeding Among Mothers of Malnourished Children in South Punjab, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

“…Previous studies have also testified of the inappropriate counseling skills during pregnancy. In addition, the immediate post-delivery period at the maternity homes and hospitals ( 24 , 25 ) remains a serious public health concern. Inappropriate counseling is often linked to various types of misconceptions and social disbeliefs that prevail ubiquitously across sectors.…”

Distance to Healthcare Facility and Lady Health Workers’ Visits Reduce Malnutrition in under Five Children: A Case Study of a Disadvantaged Rural District in Pakistan

“…In Rahim Yar Khan District, underweight prevalence rates are 46.1%, whereas stunting and wasting prevalence rates are 34.83% and 15.49%, respectively. Around 83.17% (430) of respondents have above 5 km distance to the nearest healthcare facility, 8.32% (43) of respondents have a 3 to 4 km distance, and 8.51% (44) have a distance less than or equal to 2 km from the nearest healthcare center. Around 75.82% (392) of respondents reported that LHWs have not visited their houses in the last 15 days, while 24.18% (125) reported that they have visited (Table 2).…”

“…There is evidence that amongst the richer and richest families, the prevalence of malnutrition was the lowest [40,41]. Some recent studies from the same region also show that household socioeconomic deprivation (HDS) strongly contributed to child malnutrition, and malnutrition decreased with a decrease in deprivation status [42][43][44][45][46][47].…”