High-Prevalence Stunting in Preschool Children (1–5 Years) Attending Selected Health Centers in a Food Rich Area-Bushenyi District Southwestern Uganda
+e prevalence of stunting among children in Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa is still high, and if Uganda is to achieve the food- related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it must urgently invest in improving nutrition and sanitation. In a food rich area like Bushenyi, chronic undernutrition coul...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/1023 |
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| Summary: | +e prevalence of stunting among children in Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa is still high, and if Uganda is to achieve the food-
related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it must urgently invest in improving nutrition and sanitation. In a food rich area
like Bushenyi, chronic undernutrition could be due to several other factors than mere scarcity of food. &e Objective(s). +is study
was carried out to determine the prevalence and socioclinical factors responsible for chronic undernutrition (stunting) among
preschool children aged 1–5 years in selected Health facilities in Bushenyi district. Methodology. +is was a cross-sectional study
assessing the prevalence of stunting and its associated factors among children aged 1–5 years attending selected health centers in
Bushenyi District. Data was collected using a pretested questionnaire, taking anthropometric measurements (height/length), and
stool analysis for eggs of soil-transmitted helminthes. Prevalence of stunting was presented as percentages. Logistic regression
with adjusted prevalence ratio was performed to test the association between the sociodemographic and clinical factors and
stunting at bivariate levels of analysis. Results. Most of the children were female, with a median age of 2.1 years and resided in
semiurban areas of Bushenyi with their parents. Prevalence of stunting was 89.3%. Only 10.7% of the children were infested with
soil-transmitted helminthes. Children likely to be stunted were those who drank unboiled water and were exclusively breastfed.
Conclusion. +ere is a high prevalence of chronic malnutrition in Bushenyi district associated with parents’/care takers’ low level
of knowledge |
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