7 research outputs found
Dietary Diversity and Meal Frequency Practices among Infant and Young Children Aged 6–23 Months in Ethiopia: A Secondary Analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2011
No full textBackground. Appropriate complementary feeding practice is essential for growth and development of children. This study aimed to assess dietary diversity and meal frequency practice of infants and young children in Ethiopia. Methods. Data collected in the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) from December 2010 to June 2011 were used for this study. Data collected were extracted, arranged, recoded, and analyzed by using SPSS version 17. A total of 2836 children aged 6–23 months were used for final analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis were done to identify predictors of feeding practices. Result. Children with adequate dietary diversity score and meal frequency were 10.8% and 44.7%, respectively. Children born from the richest households showed better dietary diversity score (OR = 0.256). Number of children whose age less than five years was important predictor of dietary diversity (OR = 0.690). Mothers who had exposure to media were more likely to give adequate meal frequency to their children (OR = 0.707). Conclusion. Dietary diversity and meal frequency practices were inadequate in Ethiopia. Wealth quintile, exposure to media, and number of children were affecting feeding practices. Improving economic status, a habit of eating together, and exposure to media are important to improve infant feeding practices in Ethiopia
Prevalence of Thinness and Stunting and Associated Factors among Adolescent School Girls in Adwa Town, North Ethiopia
No full textIntroduction. Despite the fact that adolescence is a window of opportunity to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, adolescents are the neglected age groups. Hence information regarding the nutritional status of adolescents is lacking making creating and implementing intervention programs difficult. Objective. To assess the prevalence of thinness, stunting, and associated factors among adolescent school girls in Adwa town, Northern Ethiopia. Methods. Data on 814 adolescent female students were collected from March to April 2015 using interviewer administered pretested semistructured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements. Data were entered using EPI INFO version 3.5.3 and analyzed using SPSS version 20 and WHO Anthroplus software. Results. The prevalence of thinness and stunting was 21.4% and 12.2%, respectively. Age of adolescent [AOR = 2.15 (1.14,4.03)], mother’s educational status [AOR = 2.34 (1.14,4.80)], eating less than 3 meals per day [AOR = 1.66 (1.12,2.46)], having family size >5 [AOR = 2.53 (1.66,3.86)] were significantly associated with thinness among the adolescent girls. Family size >5 [AOR = 2.05 (1.31,3.23)] and unimproved source of drinking water [AOR = 3.82 (2.20,6.62)] were significantly associated with stunting. Conclusion and Recommendation. Thinness and stunting are prevalent problems in the study area. Strategies to improve the nutritional status of girls should be given much attention
Early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding practices and associated factors among first-time mothers attending governmental maternal and child health clinics in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia: a mixed method study
No full textAbstract Background Early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding are among those optimal breastfeeding practices endorsed by World Health Organization to reduce child morbidity and mortality. However, worldwide, less than half of the mothers practiced early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding including first-time mothers who need even more emphasis as their decision to initiate early and exclusively breastfeed their first child raises the likelihood of doing the same for the subsequent. This study aimed to assess early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices and associated factors among first-time mothers attending governmental maternal and child health clinics in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional quantitative study on 885 first-time mothers selected by two-stage sampling complemented by a phenomenological qualitative study on 23 purposively chosen participants was conducted from February 24 to May 27, 2021. The quantitative study involved a pre-tested structured questionnaire and binary logistic regression was done for data analysis. The qualitative study involved in-depth interview, and the data was thematically analyzed. Result In this study, 74.7% (95% CI 71.8, 77.5) of the mothers practiced early initiation while 46.8% (95% CI 43.5, 50.1) of them breastfed exclusively. Vaginal delivery (AOR 5.63, 95% CI 3.64, 8.71), not giving prelacteal feeding (AOR 5.54, 95% CI 3.50, 8.78) and colostrum feeding (AOR 2.89, 95%CI 1.85, 4.52) were predictors of early initiation of breastfeeding. On the other hand; delivery at a health facility (AOR 3.13, CI 1.58, 6.18), number of PNC visits [1 visit (AOR 1.88, CI 1.27, 2.77), 2–3 (AOR 1.97, CI 1.25, 3.12) and ≥ 4 (AOR 3.61, CI 1.53, 8.54)], not giving prelacteal (AOR 2.14, CI 1.32, 3.48), husband’s support (AOR 2.34, CI 1.13, 4.83) and health workers’ support (AOR 4.34, CI 1.98, 9.53) were found to be determinants for exclusive breastfeeding which were also shown in the qualitative. Conclusion The magnitudes of early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices were lower than the national target and global recommendation for universal coverage plus most of the significant factors were maternal and child health service related factors. So, strengthening the services is crucial and the main focus should be on first-time mothers
Prevalence and factors associated with stunting and thinness among school age children in rural primary schools, East Dembia District, Northwest Ethiopia
No full textAbstract
Purpose
To assess the prevalence and factors associated with stunting and thinness among school-age children in rural primary schools in the East Dembia District, Northwest Ethiopia.
Methods
An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a systematic random sampling procedure to select 840 school-aged children. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Height and weight measurements were taken, and a combined wet mount and concentration technique was used. Epi Data 3.1 was used to enter data, which was then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered significantly associated with stunting and thinness.
Results
The prevalence of stunting and thinness was 25.5 and 13.0%, respectively. Being infected with an intestinal parasite (AOR =4.34; 95% CI: 2.52, 12.27), being in the age group 11–14 years (AOR =3.73; 95% CI: 2.19, 6.34), having the lowest dietary diversity practice (AOR =4.61; 95% CI: 1.73, 12.27), unimproved water sources (AOR =1.76; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.91), not practicing good hygiene practice (AOR =1.71; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.804) and having an unimproved latrine type (AOR =1.72; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.89) were significantly associated with stunting. On the other hand, unsecured food (AOR =1.74; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.81), eating less than 3 meals per day (AOR = 2.67; 95% CI: 1.11, 6.46), and untreated water (AOR =1.72; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.75) were factors associated significantly with thinness.
Conclusion
Stunting and thinness are predominant public health problems in the study area, provided that the prevalence of stunting is slightly higher than that of a national survey on health and nutrition in schoolchildren, whereas the prevalence of thinness is lower when compared to the same national survey. In this study, the primary factor that was significantly associated with stunting was dietary diversity; the primary factor that was associated with thinness was eating fewer than 3 meals per day. So, an integrated strategy is important to alleviate undernutrition among school-aged children in the current study area
Adequate vitamin A rich food consumption and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting child immunization and post-natal clinic at health institutions in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia.
No full textBackgroundVitamin A deficiency is highly prevalent in low-income countries and is a major public health problem worldwide. Lactating mothers are the most vulnerable population group to vitamin A deficiency. Despite this, there is limited study on vitamin A-rich food consumption by lactating mothers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess adequate vitamin A rich food consumption and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting child immunization and postnatal care centers in health institutions of Gondar Town.MethodsAn Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed at a health institution in Gondar Town from February to March 2019, and included 631 study participants. Simple random sampling followed by a systematic sampling technique was used to select participants. The data were collected using the Helen Keller International Food Frequency Questionnaire, entered using Epi-Info 7 statistical software and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable and variables with p-value ResultA total of 624 lactating mothers participated in the study giving a response rate of 98.89%. The study shows adequate consumption of vitamin A-rich food was 38.94% (95% CI: 35%- 43%). Predictors such as attending college diploma and above (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI; 1.02-4.99), having household family size ≤ 3 (AOR = 4.04, 95% CI; 1.60-10.17), being in higher economic class (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI; 1.18-3.14), having dietary diversity score of ≥ 5 (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI; 1.09-2.32) and meal frequency of ≥ 4 (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI; 1.09-2.32) were statistically significant.Conclusion and recommendationThe majority of respondents had inadequate consumption of foods rich in vitamin A. Educational status, family size, wealth index, dietary diversity, and meal frequency were found to be factors that affect adequate consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Encouraging and educating lactating mothers to consume foods rich in vitamin A is crucial
Utilization of growth monitoring and promotion services among children younger than 2 years in West Armachiho district, Northwest Ethiopia
No full textIntroductionInadequate physical growth and poor development of children are prevalent and significant problems worldwide, with 149 million children younger than 5 years stunted and 49 million wasted. Growth monitoring and promotion (GMP) is one of the major activities implemented with the aim of capturing growth faltering before the child reaches the status of undernutrition. In relation to this, the Amhara region, where the study area is found, is a highly burdened area for child malnutrition. Thus, it needs further investigation about the utilization of GMP services and associated factors among children younger than 2 years in the study area.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the utilization of growth monitoring and promotion services and associated factors among children younger than 2 years.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the West Armachiho district, including 703 mother–child pairs, with a response rate of 94.7%. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyzes were performed. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was used to measure the strength of the association.ResultsThe proportion of utilization of growth monitoring and promotion services in the West Armachiho district was 13.7% (95%Cl; 11.2, 16.4). Factors such as maternal educational status (AOR = 2.17, 95%Cl; 1.05, 4.49), institutional delivery (AOR = 3.16, 95%Cl; 1.62, 6.13), family size (AOR = 2.66, 95%Cl; 1.13, 6.23), access to health facility (AOR = 3.17, 95%Cl; 1.45, 6.95), and maternal knowledge (AOR = 4.53, 95%Cl; 2.71, 7.59) were significantly associated with the utilization of growth monitoring and promotion services.ConclusionUtilization of growth monitoring and promotion services in children younger than 2 years in the West Armachiho district was low. Thus, giving due attention to the improvement of the knowledge of the mothers/caregivers about child GMP services and counseling them about the importance of facility delivery is vital to improving growth monitoring and promotion services in the area
Iodine status five years after the mandatory salt iodization legislation indicates above requirement: a cross sectional study in Northwest Ethiopia
No full textAbstract Background Iodine deficiency is one of a major nutritional problem. The study aimed to assess the iodine status of populations in Dabat district using median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in school-age children (6–12 years) and compared the results with goiter prevalence. Methods The study used a cross-sectional study design. The study was conducted in Dabat district, northwest Ethiopia in May 2016. Spot urine samples were used for the determination of UIC. Manual examination of the thyroid gland was performed to assess presence of goiter. The MBI international Rapid Test Kits (RTK) were used to determine the level of salt iodine content. Children aged 6–12 years were recruited from schools using a multistage stratified sampling. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare mean of log-transformed UIC values among key variables. Significant was determined at P-value less than 0.05. Results A total of 358 school age children enrolled to the study. The mean age of children was 10.8((Standard Deviation (SD) = 1.45) years and 56.7% were males. The median UIC was 235 μg/l ((Inter Quartile Range (IQR): 161, 320]. Excessive iodine intake and inadequate iodine intake was observed on 29.1 and 8.7% of school aged children, respectfully. The coverage of iodized salt use in school-age children were 66.8%. The UIC was higher in urban children than rural counterparts and in those used adequately iodised salt than inadequately iodized salt (P < 0.05). Thirty-four percent of school-age children had a goiter. The prevalence of grade 1 and grade 2 goiter was 26.5 and 7.5%, respectively. There was a poor agreement between UIC and goiter (k = 0.1) in classifying iodine status of populations. Conclusions The study population is classified as above requirements by median UIC in school-age children but severe iodine deficiency by goiter prevalence. Further research investigating the agreement between UIC and goiter prevalence in classifying iodine status of populations with various iodine status is warranted
