Assessment of Factors Contributing to Undernutrition in Children Less Than Five Years of Age Admitted to Kalagala Health center IV in Luweero District, Uganda.

Abstract

Despite the numerous interventions that have been put in place to combat malnutrition by several government and non government organizations, childhood Under nutrition is still a problem affecting most Ugandan children. Malnutrition is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children less than five years of age. This research focused on examining the factors contributing to Under nutrition in children under five years of age through identifying the socio-demographic information of the child and mother/caregiver, assessing the knowledge and practices of mothers/caregivers regarding infant and child feeding and care.

The study was cross sectional conducted at Kabalagala health center IV involving 136 participants with children less than five years diagnosed with malnutrition that voluntarily accepted and signed a consent form. The respondents were selected using convenient sampling; the data was analyzed using descriptive.

According to the findings of this study, the major factors that were associated with malnutrition included low education level of mother’s education as majority 62% were below primary level, together with the low economic status; most households (55.8%) never had a stable income. The poor response to nutritional intervention as most (36%) had a low vitamin A supplementation coverage, insufficient feeds for child’s age as seen in (66.7%) and poor hygiene (25%) observed during food preparation.

Interventions to combat Under nutrition should be strengthened to empower health care providers and the community to prevent and manage malnutrition. Maternal and community education are some of the most important interventions therefore should be emphasized more to combat malnutrition. The ten steps of management of severe malnutrition should be implemented at all levels.