Relation of childhood malnutrition to parental education and mothers’ nutrition related KAP

Abstract

Severely malnourished children (26), weight for age 55.27 +/- 3.17, were identified in a colony of predominantly Muslim urban slum dwellers of low economic status. An equal number of normally nourished children matched for age, sex and per capita income were identified. A strong relation was found between nutritional status of the subjects and educational level of their mothers (P less than 0.025). Father's education was unrelated to childrens' nutritional status. A thirty seven point questionnaire was administered to the mothers to record their nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). Analysis revealed that better KAP in relation to 16 of these 37 questions was not associated with better nutritional status. Seven questions were found to have only a weak association. The remaining 14 questions were identified as important for a nutrition education programme. Comparison of nutritional KAP score based on these 14 questions in case of mothers of normal and severely malnourished children revealed a significantly higher score in the former. Questions related to growth monitoring and breast feeding were not found to be important. No significant association was found between mothers' KAP and educational level. It is concluded that (i) Maternal education and KAP are significantly and independently associated with childrens' nutritional status. (ii) The content areas of knowledge, attitudes and practices significantly associated with nutritional status pertain to nutritional requirements of children, nutritional value of foods, immunisation, hygiene, oral rehydration and diarrhea.

Anthropometric indices and its socio-demographic determinants among primary school children of an urban school in Pune, India

“…Many researcher before have highlighted the direct and indirect effects of parental education on child malnutrition in India and elsewhere. 30,31 Our study highlights that even in setting with good social support parental education (both mothers and fathers) may be associated with child malnutrition. This may be due to direct and indirect effect of parental literacy on food choices and consumption and also on utilization of health services.…”

Nutritional status of under-five children in urban slums of Pune

“…[14,18] However mother's education remains an important factor infl uencing child's nutritional status as seen in various other studies conducted across the country. [24][25][26][27] …”

Assessment of Factors Associated with Malnutrition among Under Five Years Age Children at Machakel Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia: A Case Control Study

“…Due to this fact, malnutrition continues to be a significant public health and development concern not only in developing country but also in the world [2]. Then child malnutrition still remains a public health problem mostly in developing countries including Ethiopia [8].…”