Publication:

Factors associated with nutritional status of children under-five in Pipara rural municipality, Mahottari district

Background Poor nutritional status among children under five remains a pressing problem in Nepal and is particularly prevalent in Madhesh Province. Poor educational status and culturally influenced community affect the nutritional intake and poses serious problems in under-five children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting along with the factors associated with it in Pipara rural municipality, Mahottari district.

Methods An analytical cross sectional study design was employed among children aged 6 to 59 months with the sample size of 300. All seven wards of Pipara Rural Municipality were included in the study, and eligible participants were selected using systematic random sampling within each ward. Face to face interview and anthropometric measurement technique was used by using semi-structured questionnaire, dietary diversity questionnaire, weighing machine and stadiometer. Data was collected using kobo toolbox and analyzed using World Health Organization (WHO) Anthro Survey Analyzer, Microsoft Excel and statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) v23.

Results The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting was found 39.7%, 24.7%, and 12.3% respectively. Minimum dietary diversity was found 59%. However, stunting and wasting had significant association with ethnicity and parental education.

Conclusions Under-five children nutritional status was still found as the issue needs to be addressed, higher stunting and underweight rate shows about the collective outcome of combination of several socio-demographic, socio-economic and childhood-feeding related determinants. Therefore, it reflects about the essence of having closer scrutiny on the policies or implementation gaps.