Parental Knowledge of Malnutrition as a Cause of Infant and Child Mortality Rate in Torbu Community, Sierra Leone

Authors

  • Alieu Tommy Health Education Division, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, New England Ville, Central Medical Stores, Sierra Leone
  • Taha Hussein Musa Biomedical Research Institute, Darfur College, Nyala, Sudan
  • Joseph Kawuk Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Global Health School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Upama Ghimire 4Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Global Health School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Nathan Obore 4Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Global Health School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Shireen Salome Papabathini 4Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Global Health School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Lovel Fornah 4Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, Global Health School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2020.09.02.4

Keywords:

Parental knowledge, Malnutrition, Child mortality, Bo city

Abstract

Malnutrition is a significant public health problem over the world, with severe impact in developing countries, including Asia and Africa. This paper present to assess malnutrition as a cause of infant and child mortality rate in Torbu community in Bo city, Sierra Leone. We used a community-based cross-sectional survey. A total of 80 mothers with children of under five years were selected using convenience sampling from the different divisions of Bo city. The findings showed that 48 (60%) of the respondents have never been sensitized nor have any knowledge about Malnutrition, of which 16 (50%) were informed via radio while 50 (63%) were not aware of any nutrition facility around the community. Besides, 56 (70%) of the respondents did not practice exclusive breastfeeding, 64 (80%) fed their children on only carbohydrates mainly in the form of rice, and 26 (32.5%) had one meal per day. 64 (80%) reported their children to have been admitted due to malnutrition (with mainly protein-energy malnutrition), while over a half 46 (57%) reported having lost a child to malnutrition. Thus, we recommended more nutrition education to address the poor Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices as well as targeted health interventions to mitigate the devastating effects of child malnutrition in the district.

References

UNICEF global databases Infant and Young Child Feeding, UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group: Joint child malnutrition estimates, UNICEF/WHO Low birthweight estimates, NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, WHO Global Health Observatory. Available from: https://www.who.int/nutgrowthdb/en/.

Vaivada T, Gaffey MF, Das JK, Bhutta ZA. Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition in low-income settings: what's new?. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care 2017; 20(3): 204-10. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0000000000000365 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0000000000000365

Rice AL, Sacco L, Hyder A, Black RE. Malnutrition as an underlying cause of childhood deaths associated with infectious diseases in developing countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2000; 78: 1207-21.

Odjidja EN, Hakizimana S. Data on acute malnutrition and mortality among under-5 children of pastoralists in a humanitarian setting: a cross-sectional Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions Study. BMC Research Notes 2019; 12(1): 434. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4475-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4475-x

UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank, “Levels and Trends in Child malnutrition,” 2018. Available from: https://www.un.org/en/ development/desa/population/publications/mortality/child-mortality-report-2018.asp.

World Health Organization. World health statistics 2019: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/ handle/10665/324835/9789241565707-eng.pdf.

UNICEF 2019. The State of the World's Children, 2019. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-of-worlds-children-2019.

Tarekegn SM, Lieberman LS, Giedraitis V. Determinants of maternal health service utilization in Ethiopia: analysis of the 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2014; 14(1): 161. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-14-161 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-14-161

Mosley WH, Chen LC. An analytical framework for the study of child survival in developing countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003; 81: 140-5.

Butte NF, Lopez-Alarcon MG, Garza C. Nutrient adequacy of exclusive breastfeeding for the term infant during the first six months of life. World Health Organization 2002.

Ijumba P, Doherty T, Jackson D, Tomlinson M, Sanders D, Swanevelder S, Persson LÅ. Effect of an integrated community-based package for maternal and newborn care on feeding patterns during the first 12 weeks of life: a cluster-randomized trial in a South African township. Public health Nutrition 2015; 18(14): 2660-8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000099 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000099

Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, De Onis M, Ezzati M, Grantham-McGregor S, Katz J, Martorell R, Uauy R. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet 2013; 382(9890): 427-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X

Joseph K, Musa TH, Pherry O. Dietary practices, WASH conditions, and disease occurrence among children below five years in households of Nangabo, Wakiso district, Uganda. Scientific African 2020; 25: e00291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00291 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00291

Hoa NN, Hien NN. Nutritional Status and Determinants of Malnutrition in Children under Three Years of Age in Nghean, Vietnam.

Amsalu S, Tigabu Z. Risk factors for severe acute malnutrition in children under the age of five: a case control study. Gondar, Ethiopia: Ethiop. J Health Dev 2008; 22(1). https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhd.v22i1.10058 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhd.v22i1.10058

Nnyepi M, Mmopelwa D, Codjia P. Child nutrition and household economic situation in the context of rising food prices in Mabutsane and Bobirwa (in Maundeni T. P (Ed). Thari ya Bana: Reflections on Children in Botswana in Gaborone, Botswana: UB and UNICEF) 2010.

Schwinger C, Golden MH, Grellety E, Roberfroid D, Guesdon B. Severe acute malnutrition and mortality in children in the community: Comparison of indicators in a multi-country pooled analysis. PloS One 2019; 14(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219745 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219745

Turyashemererwa FM, Kikafunda JK, Agaba E. Prevalence of early childhood malnutrition and influencing factors in peri urban areas of Kabarole district, western Uganda. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 2009; 9(4). https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v9i4.43872 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v9i4.43872

Mahgoub SEO, Nnyepi M, Bandeke T. Factors affecting prevalence of malnutrition among children under three years of age in Botswana. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 2006; 6: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v6i1.19171 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v6i1.19171

Roba KT, O’Connor TP, Belachew T, O’Brien NM. Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices among mothers of children aged 6–23 months in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia. Int J Nutr Food Sci 2016; 5(3): 185-94. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160503.16 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20160503.16

Müller O, Krawinkel M. Malnutrition and health in developing countries. CMAJ 2005; 173(3): 279-86. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.050342 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.050342

Adebisi YA, Ibrahim K, Lucero-Prisno III DE, Ekpenyong A, Micheal AI, Chinemelum IG, Sina-Odunsi AB. Prevalence

and Socio-economic Impacts of Malnutrition Among Children in Uganda. Nutrition and Metabolic Insights 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178638819887398 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1178638819887398

Gebre A, Reddy PS, Mulugeta A, Sedik Y, Kahssay M. Prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among under-five children in pastoral communities of afar regional state, Northeast Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism 2019; 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9187609 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9187609

Caulfield LE, de Onis M, Blössner M, Black RE. Undernutrition as an underlying cause of child deaths associated with diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and measles. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004 1; 80(1): 193-8. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.1.193 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.1.193

Musa Taha H, Musa Hassan H, Ali Elrasheed A, Musa Nazik E. Prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years old in Khartoum State, Sudan. Polish Ann Med 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2014.01.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2014.01.001

Downloads

Published

2020-06-02

How to Cite

Tommy, A. ., Musa, T. H. ., Kawuk, J. ., Ghimire, U. ., Obore, N. ., Papabathini, S. S. ., & Fornah, L. . (2020). Parental Knowledge of Malnutrition as a Cause of Infant and Child Mortality Rate in Torbu Community, Sierra Leone. International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 9(2), 74–80. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2020.09.02.4

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2020)

Section

General Articles

License

Policy for Journals/Articles with Open Access

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work

Policy for Journals / Manuscript with Paid Access

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Publisher retain copyright .

  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work .
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC