School of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences

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Browsing School of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences by Author "Eeoi Jacob Lokamatei & Peter Nyeko"

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    Prevalence Of Malnutrition And Associated Factors Among Children Less Than Five Years Of Age Attending Mulago National Referral Hospital Nutrition Unit , Kampala Uganda
    (King Ceasor University, Institutional Repository, 2024-07-23) Eeoi Jacob Lokamatei & Peter Nyeko
    Malnutrition is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children below five years globally and is estimated that 45% of deaths in children under 5 years of age are due to undernutrition. In Uganda, the mortality of children under 5 years due to malnutrition or indirect malnutrition causes is approximated at 45.0%. the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children under five years at Mulago Hospital nutrition unit. This was a cross-sectional study involving a sample size of 147 participants attending Mulago Hospital. Respondents were recruited using a simple random sampling technique and data was collected using a self-generated questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS V 23.0. Results: In this study, more than half 88(59.9%) of the participants were females and the majority 74(50.3%) of them were aged 12-36 months. The prevalence of malnutrition among children below five years was 56(37.2%). Multivariate analysis revealed that the child’s age <12 months (p<0.001, OR=0.07) and 12-36 months (p<0.001, OR=0.14) decreased chances of having malnutrition compared to age 37-59 months. The child’s regular deworming (p<0.001, OR=0.02) and washing hands before eating (p<0.001, OR=0.09) decreased the chances of having malnutrition. Birth interval of ≤2 months (p=0.005, OR=18.54) increased the chances of having malnutrition compared to a birth interval of 3-4. Maternal factors included; maternal age <20 years (p=0.002, OR=13.46) which increased the chances of having malnutrition compared to age 30-39 years. Primary level of education (p<0.001, OR=49.37) increased chances of having malnutrition compared to tertiary level of education. Being married (p<0.001, OR=0.1) reduced the chances of having malnutrition compared to being single. Regarding maternal occupation, being a businesswoman (p=0.001, OR=0.03) and civil servant (p=0.003, OR=0.04) reduced the chances of suffering from malnutrition compared to other types of occupation. Similarly, nutrition education (p<0.001, OR=0.01) reduced suffering from malnutrition. We concluded although the prevalence of malnutrition obtained in our study was lower than the previous findings in western Uganda, it was still higher than the general national and global estimation. Both child and maternal-related factors are associated with malnutrition in under-five children. The child-related factors include the child’s age, regular deworming, and washing of hands before eating. The maternal-related factors include maternal age, marital status, education level occupation, and nutrition education. we recommended community nutrition and health education. Keywords: Child Malnutrition; Under-Five Mortality; Maternal Factors; Associated Factors