Factors Contributing to Anaemia in Children under Five Years in the Ga East Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Anaemia is a significant public health issue globally with extreme health consequences. More than two (2) billion individuals have been infected worldwide. A cross-sectional study design was used in this study. The study population included all mothers with children under- five years of age and are residents in the selected communities. A sample size of 282 mothers with children under five years was selected. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting the sample. The multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the influence of demographic factors on knowledge and prevalence of anaemia. All significant associations and influence were determined at a 0.05 level of significance. The prevalence of anaemia in children was found as 47.9% (95%CI: 42%-54%). Also, family history of anaemia was 49.7% of the respondents. Bivariate analysis showed a significant association among almost all the variables and the anaemia condition in children except for the mother’s age (p=0.486), the number of children (p=0.60) and delivery status (p=0.271). Factors that were statistically significant were mother’s education, mother’s occupation, family type and family income (p<0.001). Again, other factors such as father’s occupation and religious affiliation also had a p-value of <0.01. Child’s birth weight was also significant with p-value=0. 037. It was noted that the high awareness of childhood anaemia among caregivers does not necessarily translate to high knowledge levels. More than half of the participants had poor knowledge on the signs and symptoms, complications and management of childhood anaemia.