PREVALENCE OF MALNUTRITION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG CHILDREN AGED 6-59 MONTHS IN KIZINDA SUBURB BUSHENYI-ISHAKA MUNICIPALITY

Table of Contents

DECLARATION......................................................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL OF SUBMISSION ................................................................................................................ ii

DEDICATION............................................................................................................................................iii

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT..........................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................................................................vii

LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS...................................................................................................................viii

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................................ix

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background........................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem statement................................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 Objectives of the study.......................................................................................................................... 3

1.3.1 General Objective .............................................................................................................................. 3

1.3.2 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 3

1.4 Research questions................................................................................................................................ 3

1.5 Justification of the study ....................................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 5

2.1 Overview of malnutrition...................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Prevalence of malnutrition .................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Associated factors of malnutrition ........................................................................................................ 6

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 9

METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 Study design.......................................................................................................................................... 9

3.2 Study setting ......................................................................................................................................... 9

3.3 Study population ................................................................................................................................... 9

3.3.1 Sample size determination....................................................................................................... 9

3.3.2 Sampling procedure ........................................................................................................................... 9

3.3.3 Inclusion criteria .............................................................................................................................. 10

3.3.4 Exclusion criteria ............................................................................................................................. 10

3.4 Definition of variables ........................................................................................................................ 10

3.4.1 Dependent variable .......................................................................................................................... 10

3.4.2 Independent variables ...................................................................................................................... 10

3.5 Data collection tools and procedures................................................................................................... 10

3.7 Data management ............................................................................................................................... 11

3.8 Data analysis and presentation ............................................................................................................ 11

3.9 Ethical consideration........................................................................................................................... 11

3.10 Study limitations............................................................................................................................... 11

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ................................................................................................................. 12

4.1 Characteristics of study participants................................................................................................ 12

4.2 Prevalence of malnutrition .............................................................................................................. 13

4.3 Association of respondents‟ characteristics and malnutrition.......................................................... 14

4.4 Binary logistic regression of significant factors.............................................................................. 15

Table 3: Binary logistic regression of significant factors...................................................................... 15

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................. 16

5.1 Prevalence of malnutrition .............................................................................................................. 16

5.2 Risk factors of malnutrition ............................................................................................................ 16

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................... 18

6.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 18

6.2 Recommendations........................................................................................................................... 18

References ................................................................................................................................................ 19

APPENDIX I: CONSENT FORM............................................................................................................ 24

APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................................................................................... 25

APPENDIX IV: MAP OF UGANDA SHOWING LOCATION OF BUSHENYI DISTRICT................. 27

APPENDIX V: MAP OF BUSHENYI SHOWING BUSHENYI-ISHAKA MUNICIPALITY ............... 28

ABSTRACT 

Background: Globally, approximately 151 million children under 5 suffer from stunting and in 2017, nearly 51 million children under 5 were wasted. In Uganda, child malnutrition is one of the most serious public health problems and among the highest in the world with about 28.9% stunted and 3.6 % wasted in 2015. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify prevalence of malnutrition and determine the associated factors for malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years among children in Kizinda suburb, Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality. 

Methods: A community base cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Data collection was done using a pretested questionnaire and the Emergency Nutrition Assessment software version 2015 was used to generate z-scores and the Weight for Height Z-scores (WHZ) were generated using WHO 2005 Growth Standards. The data was then exported to IBM SPSS version 25 for analysis. 

Results: Malnutrition was found to be at 31.9% (n=135) and factors associated with malnutrition were, sex of the child where, female children were 4 times likely to be malnourished than boys (P=0.002; OR=3.620; 95%CI=1.560-8.385).