Maternal and child characteristics as protective factors for child nutritional status in Pangani District, Tanzania

Abstract

Undernutrition is attributed to various causes, including characteristics of the mother. Maternal health and height of the mothers have been identified several times in the literature as critical factors influencing child growth. However, the influence of maternal sociodemographic characteristics on undernutrition, especially among those population residing in rural settings has scantily been explored. This paper examined the influence of maternal variables on undernutrition among children under-five years in Pangani District. Data were collected from 340 mothers/caregivers-child pairs using a structured questionnaire, child hospital cards, and anthropometric measurements which were taken from 355 children under-five years of age. Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) for SMART (2011) software was used to generate indices for weight-for-height, height-for-age and weight-for-age. Thereafter, a composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) was used to measure undernutrition. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to measure the relationship between a categorical dependent variable and independent variables. The CIAF results indicated that undernutrition is still a health problem in Pangani District whereby male children were more undernourished (22.5%) compared to female children (14.1%). Ten variables were entered for analysis; of the 10 variables subjected to binary logistic analysis, four variables (education of the mother or caretaker, sex of the child, immunization status and marital status) significantly influenced undernutrition. Education of the mother was the strongest predictor of undernutrition of children under- five years (β = 2.333, Wald = 30.356, OR = 10.309, p = 0.000). It is concluded that undernutrition is still a problem in the study area. Education of the mother was found to be among the important factor influencing child undernutrition in Pangani district. It is recommended that the government, through the Ministry of Health, should ensure availability of health services and facilities close to the communities. Provision of quality education to transfer knowledge geared at empowering women to take actions regarding their health and the health of their children is also recommended.