| dc.description.abstract | Prevalence and factors associated with acute malnutrition among infants 1-5 months in Nadunget subcounty Moroto district.
Background; Childhood wasting (acute malnutrition) is a global public health problem with serious consequences for both individuals and societies. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate 8.5 million (2.0-34%) infants less than 6 months of age as being wasted worldwide while in Uganda the prevalence of acute malnutrition among this age group is at 4.6% for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 7.5% for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). In Karamoja some studies have described the prevalence of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-5 months but little is known about the prevalence and determinants of malnutrition among the under six months old infants in the region particularly Moroto district. This paucity of disease prevalence data undermines the development of effective interventions among this category.
Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with Acute Malnutrition among infants 1-5 months of age in Nadunget sub county, Moroto district.
The specific objectives were:
i) To determine the prevalence of Acute Malnutrition among infants1-5 months of age in Nadunget sub county.
ii) To determine factors associated with Acute Malnutrition among infants1-5 months of age in Nadunget sub county.
iii) To explore the perception, knowledge and practices of caregivers of infants 1-5 months about Acute malnutrition in Nadunget sub county.
Secondary Objective xvi
To determine the prevalence and factors associated stunting among infants 1-5 months in Nadunget subcounty
Methods: This was a cross sectional, mixed methods study conducted among 360 infants 1-5 months of age and their caregivers in Nadunget Sub County, Moroto District. Quantitative data was collected using interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaires. The qualitative data were collected through five focus group discussions with caregivers. Quantitative data was entered in Epidata version 4.1 and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence of acute malnutrition. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that were associated with acute malnutrition among infants 1-5 months of age. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data for perception, knowledge and practices.
Results: The prevalence of acute malnutrition among infants 1-5 months of age was 23.9% (95% CI: 19.70-28.60), those with SAM were 5.3% and MAM 18.6%. Increasing age of the infant PR = 5.35 (95% CI 1.96–14.61) p-value=0.001, mixed feeding PR = 1.44 (95% CI 1.06–4.49) p-value=0.046, no maternal Education PR = 1.35 (95% CI 1.09–2.23) p-value=0.012, maternal age (14-19.9) PR 1.79 (CI 1.268-3.711) p-value <0.0001 and diarrhea PR 1.30 (95% CI 1.02-1.98) p-value 0.024 were significantly associated with acute malnutrition. Limited knowledge about acute malnutrition, inappropriate cultural practices and local superstitions are some of the, practices and perception contributing to acute malnutrition in this age group. Further results revealed inadequate feeding practices. The prevalence of stunting was 17.8% with a confidence interval of 14.1% to 22.1%. caregiver’s age (OR=3.33, p-value=0.001) and type of feeding (OR=5.33, p-value = 0.05) were significantly associated with stunting. xvii
Conclusion This study showed that approximately a quarter of infants 1-5 months of age had acute malnutrition. Many more infants had moderate acute malnutrition and less than a quarter of the infants were stunted. Therefore, there is need for the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders within the region such as WFP, UNICEF, CUAM and others to scale up community sensitization and interventions to avert acute malnutrition in this age group to avoid complications. | en_US |
