Abstract:
Malnutrition in children adversely impacts their growth and development, educational attainment, and the incidence of chronic diseases and economic productivity later in life. This study aimed to assess the nutritional status of children under 5 years of age in rural communities in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) of the Eastern Region of Ghana.
A cross sectional study design employing quantitative methods was chosen for this study. The study population comprised children between the ages of 6 and 59 months and their caregivers. The study sample was chosen from among eligible caregivers and their children from 4 hard-to-reach communities and (2) peri-urban communities within 3 sub-municipalities, who lived in and accessed child welfare services in the LMKM during the study period.
A sample of 285 caregivers and their children were enrolled. Face-to-face interviews were used to collect the data from the respondents, and anthropometric measurements were carried out. Data entry was done using Excel 2010 and analyzed using WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 and STATA version 14.
The average age of the children under 5 years and their mothers were 32 months and 29 years respectively. Findings from the study indicate that, 40% of the children were malnourished (either stunted, wasted or underweight). Among severely malnourished children, about 5% were stunted, a similar percentage were wasted and 7% were underweight. Results of Chi square and Fisher’s exact tests for association carried out indicated that, mother’s age (p<0.001), family structure (p=0.010) and access to media information (p<0.001) were significantly associated with mother’s nutritional knowledge. To ascertain the predictors of mothers’ nutritional knowledge, a multiple logistic regression analysis showed that, caregivers with a lower education level (primary/junior high school) were more likely to have higher nutritional knowledge.
Ultimately, the study identified that, majority of children under 5 years of age surveyed from hard-to-reach and peri-urban communities in the LMKM had good nutritional status. More than a third of the children were however stunted, a tenth wasted, and less than a fifth underweight. There is therefore the need for a more integrative effort of parents, community leaders, municipal health directorate and other stakeholders to improve the nutritional status of children under 5 years.
