The Prevalence and Determinants of Stunting among Children 6 - 59 Months of Age in One of the Sub-Counties in the Rwenzori Sub-Region, Western Uganda

Abstract

Introduction: Despite being referred to as one of the country's "food baskets", 41% of children, 6-59 months of age in the Rwenzori sub-region, Western Uganda are stunted. Stunting is a form of chronic malnutrition in which children are short for their age. In this study, we established the prevalence and determinants of stunting in one of the sub-counties in this region. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in one of the sub-counties in the Rwenzori sub-region, Western Uganda from May 26 th to June 26 th , 2018. A total of 372 mothers and their children were recruited using systematic sampling. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Stunting was determined by taking child's height or length and comparing it with child's age. A child whose height or length for age index was less than −2 Standard Deviations (SD) was considered stunted. We used descriptive statistics to understand characteristics of mothers and multivariable logistic regression model to obtain the determinants of stunting. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 372 mothers and their children were included in this study; majority, 307 (83.0%) of the children were 6-24 months old and nearly half, 167 (44.9%) were stunted. We found that reserving food stock for use in the dry season (aOR = 0.23, CI = 0.08-0.62, p = 0.004), deworming children (aOR = 0.32, CI = 0.18-0.54, p = 0.001) and the family earning at least 10,000 Ushs (2.7USD

Determinants of stunting in children under five: a scoping review

“…Food storage (AOR = 0.23, CI = 0.08-0.62, p = 0.004) Masereka et al 5 Households where the head of the family is young (<35 years), the mother's age is still young, and family income.…”

“…Among the 18 journal articles in the literature review, 6 articles show that gender has an effect on the incidence of stunting among children less than 5 years. 5,16,19,20,24,29 From several literature reviews, it is explained that boys are more prone to be stunted compared to girls. This happens maybe as a result of the high vulnerability of boys to get an infection of disease.…”

“…There are 4 articles that discuss the child's age factor in the incidence of stunting among children <5 years of age from the 18 journal articles in the literature review. 5,20,21,26 In a literature review, children are more prone to stunting at the age of 13-24 months. Another study found that children aged 6-11 months experienced less stunting than children aged 12-24 months.…”

Faktor Risiko Stunting pada Balita Usia 24-59 Bulan di Sukoharjo

“…Beberapa dari penelitian sebelumnya menyebutkan bahwa faktor penyebab kejadian stunting baik di dunia dan Indonesia PROFESI (Profesional Islam): Media Publikasi Penelitian 2023; Volume 20; No 2. Website: journals.itspku.ac.id meliputi kurang pengetahuan tentang stunting, kerawanan pangan, kelahiran prematur atau BBLR, pemberian ASI ekslusif, pengelolaan MPASI anak, sanitasi lingkungan, status sosial ekonomi keluarga yang rendah (Beal T, et al, 2018;Masereka, et al, 2020).…”

Specific Correlated Factors to Undernutrition Among Children 0-59 Months in Mubende District: A Case Study of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, Central Uganda.

“…In the year 2000, it was estimated that 182 million preschool children which was one-third of children less than five years old in developing countries were stunted and approximately, 27% were estimated to be underweight (Kisiangani* et al, 2014). These various forms of undernutrition have been attributed to poor household income, having no formal education, especially for mothers as well as having more than 2 children below five years of age in the same household (Mirembe Masereka et al, 2020) In the Eastern Africa region, stunting and underweight are estimated at 48% and 36% respectively, and are expected to increase over the next decade furthermore in Kenya, malnutrition is still a serious public health problem and the situation has been worsening despite the numerous activities geared towards improving food and nutrition security (Kisiangani* et al, 2014),.…”