Knowledge and Attitude from Mothers on the Impact of Nutrition on the Growth of Under-Five Children in Buchi Compound, Kitwe District
Wilbroad Kondwani Chilenga,
Alfred Matafwali Sichilima
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 3, September 2018
Pages:
43-53
Received:
26 October 2018
Accepted:
20 November 2018
Published:
1 March 2019
Abstract: Malnutrition is defined by the World Health Organization as the cellular imbalance between supply of nutrients and energy and the body's demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and other specific functions. Malnutrition is one of the major causes of death in under-five children. There are many causes of malnutrition, one of them being inadequate maternal nutrition knowledge. This study was designed to assess the knowledge and attitude mothers with under-five children have on nutrition and how this impacts the growth of children. The study was carried out in Buchi compound of Kitwe district of Zambia. A cross sectional survey was done with 270 mothers as respondents. A structured questionnaire is to collect information on their knowledge and attitude towards nutrition and its impact on the growth of children below the age of five years. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. The results showed that the age composition of the study population had more persons below the age of 34 with a mean age of 27years. The majority of mothers were married and most of them were housewives. Many of the mothers had attained primary and secondary levels of education. Most of the mothers had good attitudes towards the importance of nutrition. Majority of mothers had some knowledge about nutrition, about 46% had an average nutritional knowledge score. Age, level of education, and occupation were significantly related to knowledge level at 0.05 level (P-values, 0.006, 0.000, 0.000 respectively). There was no significant relationship between marital status and knowledge level (P-value 0.112). The study concluded that mothers have some knowledge about nutrition and that education plays an important role in the acquisition of this knowledge. In addition to nutritional knowledge, the other observed important contributor to poor growth/nutritional status in children is poor social economic status. Generally, the nutritional status of the children was fairly normal though only the dietary aspect was assessed.
Abstract: Malnutrition is defined by the World Health Organization as the cellular imbalance between supply of nutrients and energy and the body's demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and other specific functions. Malnutrition is one of the major causes of death in under-five children. There are many causes of malnutrition, one of them being inadeq...
Show More
