KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF MALNUTRITION AND ITS EFFECT ON UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN AMONG MOTHERS ATTENDING PRIMARY HEALTH CENTERS IN SAGAMU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OGUN STATE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Chidinma Abaribe; Jesupemi  Ayodeji; Scholastica  Makinde; Amarachi Onuiri

doi:10.51168/sjhrafrica.v6i3.1572

Authors

Chidinma Abaribe 1PhD, RN, PDE(TRCN), FWAPCNM, Department of Community/Public Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State
Jesupemi Ayodeji BNSc, RN. School of Nursing, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State
Scholastica Makinde MSc, RN, RPHN. Faculty of Nursing Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo
Amarachi Onuiri BNSc, RN. Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/sjhrafrica.v6i3.1572

Keywords:

knowledge, malnutrition, mothetrs, perception, under-five children

Abstract

Background

Childhood malnutrition remains a global challenge and the most prevalent nutritional problem in developing countries, including Nigeria. This study assessed the knowledge and perception of malnutrition and its effect on under-five children among mothers attending primary health centers in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria.

Method

The study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative design and used a multi-stage sampling technique to select sixty-one mothers from the three selected primary health centers in Sagamu LGA. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used for the collection of data from participants. Data was collected, coded, and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present the findings from the study, and all were tested at the level of 0.05 significance

Results

The result shows that the majority of the mothers were between the ages of 18 and 28 years (44.9%), attained tertiary education (73.5%), were from Yoruba land (65.3%), were Christian (75.5%), and most had one to three children (80.6%). Mothers had high knowledge of malnutrition 138(91.8%), and high knowledge of the effects of malnutrition 144 (95.8%). The result also revealed a significant relationship between respondent's knowledge of malnutrition and the effects of malnutrition (p= 0.001), level of education and knowledge of malnutrition (p= 0.000), and between the knowledge of malnutrition and perception of malnutrition in under-five children (p= 0.006)

Conclusion

The study concludes that the Majority of the mothers demonstrated high knowledge of malnutrition and good knowledge of its effects, and it established a positive relationship between knowledge and perception of malnutrition in children under five.

Recommendation

Therefore, the study recommended that training programs should be done periodically for mothers to ensure they are abreast with the proper knowledge and ways to prevent malnutrition in their under-five children.

References

Gebre A, Reddy PS, Mulugeta A, Sedik Y, Kahssay M. Prevalence of Malnutrition and Associated Factors among Under-Five Children in Pastoral Communities of Afar Regional State, Northeast Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2019 Jan 1;2019(1):9187609. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9187609

Syed S, Ali A, Duggan C. Environmental Enteric Dysfunction in Children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2016 Jul;63(1):6-14. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000001147

Rogers BL, Wilner LB, Maganga G, Walton SM, Suri DJ, Langlois BK, et al. Program changes are effective and cost-effective in increasing the amount of oil used in preparing corn-soy blend porridge for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in Malawi. Matern Child Nutr. 2017 Oct;13(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12393

Webb P, Stordalen GA, Singh S, Wijesinha-Bettoni R, Shetty P, Lartey A. Hunger and malnutrition in the 21st century. BMJ. 2018 Jun 13;361: k2238. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2238

Ali A. Current status of malnutrition and stunting in Pakistani children: what needs to be done? Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2021;40(2):180-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2020.1750504

Fanzo J, Hawkes C, Udomkesmalee E, Afshin A, Allemandi L, Assery O, et al. 2018 Global Nutrition Report: Shining a light to spur action on nutrition [Internet]. Bristol, UK: Development Initiatives; 2018 Jan. Available from: https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/88148, https://globalnutritionreport.org/reports/global-nutrition-report-2018/

Zhang M, Giloi N, Shen Y, Yu Y, Aza Sherin MY, Lim MC. Prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children aged 6-24 months under poverty alleviation policy in Shanxi province, China: A cross-sectional study. Annals of Medicine and Surgery. 2022 Sep 1; 81:104317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104317

Otele DO, Bunu SJ, Edoni E. Mothers' perception analysis on nutritional health and malnutrition among children under 5 years in the niger delta region. Asian Journal of Research and Reports in Gastroenterology. 2020;2(1):20-8.

Global Burden of Disease. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. 2022 [cited 2024 Dec 15]. Global Burden of Disease result. Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results

Liu J, Qi X, Wang X, Qin Y, Jiang S, Han L, et al. Evolving patterns of nutritional deficiencies burden in low-and middle-income countries: findings from the 2019 global burden of disease study. Nutrients. 2022;14(5):931. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14050931

Hassen HY, Ali JH, Gebreyesus SH, Endris BS, Temesgen AM. National incidence, prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of common micronutrient deficiencies in Ethiopia from 1990 to 2017: estimates from the global burden of diseases study. Global health action. 2020;13(1):1776507. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1776507

The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program. The DHS Program - The Nutritional Status of Nigerian Children: What needs to change [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2024 Dec 15]. Available from: https://dhsprogram.com/Who-We-Are/News-Room/The-Nutritional-Status-of-Nigerian-Children-What-needs-to-change.cfm

Mahfouz R, Chinnathambi K. Knowledge and Practice of Mothers Regarding the Prevention and Management of Malnutrition Among Preschool Children - A Cross-Sectional Survey. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research. 2017 May 25;9. https://doi.org/10.25258/ijpcr.v9i5.8604

Bhutta ZA, Berkley JA, Bandsma RHJ, Kerac M, Trehan I, Briend A. Severe childhood malnutrition. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017 Sep 21; 3:17067. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2017.67

Popkin BM, Corvalan C, Grummer-Strawn LM. Dynamics of the double burden of malnutrition and the changing nutrition reality. Lancet. 2020 Jan 4;395(10217):65-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32497-3

World Health Organization. Fact sheets - Malnutrition [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Dec 15]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition

International Food Policy Research Institute, 2019. IFPRI. 2019 [cited 2024 Dec 15]. International Food Policy Research Institute. Available from: https://www.ifpri.org/

World Health Organization, Fund (UNICEF) UNC, Development IB for R and. Levels and trends in child malnutrition: key findings of the 2019 edition. 2019 [cited 2024 Dec 15]; Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/331097

Yamane T. Statistics: An introductory analysis. 1973;

Demilew YM. Factors associated with mothers' knowledge on infant and young child feeding recommendation in slum areas of Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia: cross-sectional study. BMC Res Notes. 2017 Jun 5;10(1):191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2510-3

Seid A, Seyoum B, Mesfin F. Determinants of Acute Malnutrition among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Public Health Facilities of Pastoralist Community, Afar Region, Northeast Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study. J Nutr Metab. 2017; 2017:7265972. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7265972

Boah M, Azupogo F, Amporfro DA, Abada LA. The epidemiology of undernutrition and its determinants in children under five years in Ghana. PLoS One. 2019;14(7):e0219665. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219665

Hoffman D, Cacciola T, Barrios P, Simon J. Temporal changes and determinants of childhood nutritional status in Kenya and Zambia. J Health Popul Nutr. 2017 Jun 5;36(1):27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-017-0095-z