Factors Influencing Recovery among Children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition Treated at Kirehe District Health Centers

Abstract

Acute malnutrition affects nearly 52 million of under five years children globally, 75% of them live in low to middle income countries. The treatment of acute malnutrition using supplement foods could help children recovering and could reduce the risk of sickness. The present study investigated the factors associated with recovery among children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) under a follow-up program at health facilities. A prospective study was conducted in 16 health centers of Kirehe District of Rwanda and included 200 children from 6 to 59 months. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. All children enrolled in the study spent three months in nutrition program at health centers. The results show that after 3 months in the program 77.5% recovered from MAM. Children aged above 36 to 59 months were recovered at 90% whereas children aged from 24-35 months were recovered at 73.5%. Micronutrients and deworming provided at health facility were contributed to the recovery as children who received them were recovered at 89.1% and for those who didn’t were recovery at 72.1%. The findings demonstrated that boys were 16 times more likely to recover from MAM in three months of intervention than girls (AOR=16.19, p<0.001, 95% CI: 5.39- 48.63). Children from moderate income families were 3 more likely to recover than those from very low income families (AOR=2.8, p=0.029, 95% CI: 1.11-7.51). Male gender, receiving micronutrients and deworming from health facilities and family income status were factors associated with MAM recovery status

Time to Recovery From Moderate Acute Malnutrition and Its Predictors Among Children 6–59 Months of Age Enrolled in Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program in Darolebu District, Eastern Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…Children who were not dewormed were 1.87 times (AHR = 1.87, 95%CI: 1.34–2.61) more likely to recover faster than their counterparts. The finding has supported the study conducted in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, which reported that children who had taken deworming were more likely to recover faster compared to those who had not taken it ( 23 , 31 ). This might be because children with malnutrition are at an increased risk of infection and intestinal inflammation ( 37 ), which impair nutrient absorption and could delay the recovery time among children who had not taken deworming medication.…”

“…The recovery rate in the current study is also consistent with the findings of the studies done in Southern Ethiopia and rural Burkina-Faso, which reported 73% and 74.5% recovery rates (34,35), respectively. However, it is lower than the findings of the studies conducted elsewhere, for instance, 82.8% in West Arsi, Ethiopia (30), 77.5% in Rwanda (31), and 95.5 in Niger (36). This variation might be due to differences in guidance and support for TSFP among the study settings, and adherence to MAM management protocol across the regions.…”

“…Data about the characteristics of the children were extracted from the registration book. On the other hand, the questionnaire used to collect data from the primary caregiver was designed by reviewing related literature (30)(31)(32) and adapted to the local situation. Eight health extension workers and three nursing professionals, a total of eleven personnel, have participated in the data collection and supervision processes, respectively.…”