Assessment Of caregivers’ knowledge of causes and strategies of reducing malnutrition in children zero to five years in Samaru community, Sabon-Gari local Government, Kaduna state, Nigeria.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/tnhj.v24i2.834Keywords:
Assessment, Children Zero to Five Years, causes, strategies, malnutrition, Sabon-Gari Local Government, Kaduna stateAbstract
Background: There is a high prevalence of malnutrition with negative consequences among children 0-5 years. The caregivers' knowledge of causes and strategies for reducing malnutrition in children zero to five years old in the Samaru community was assessed.
Method: A descriptive cross sectional study design with 320 mothers and caregivers of children from zero to five years residing in the five areas of Samaru community. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information including socio-demographics, causes, and strategies for reducing malnutrition. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained from research and ethics committee, Kaduna state University.
Results: The majority of the patients were < 35 years of age (56.6%), Muslims (53.1%), below the tertiary level of education (84.4%), currently employed (53.1%), and currently married (87.5%). They mostly have ≤ 4 children (73.4%), males (59.4%), aged above 1 year (65.9%). The majority have good knowledge of the causes of malnutrition (mean = 2.62), factors influencing the prevalence of malnutrition (mean = 2.76), and a satisfactory level of knowledge on the strategy of reducing malnutrition (mean = 3.66).
Conclusion: The nutritional status of under-fives in Nigerian communities is low despite adequate knowledge of the majority of the carers on the causes and strategies for reducing malnutrition. There is a need for the development of policies and programs to ensure proper implementation of programs and services aimed at reducing the prevalence and menace of malnutrition.
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