Assessment of Nutritional Status and Associated Factors in Children Under-Five Years at Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition remains the main public health problem in most less developed countries. Children are mostly exposed to malnutrition because they are still developing. Sufficient nutrition, during childhood, will ensure correct organ development, adequate growth, neurological and cognitive development, as well as an improved immune system. If the nutritional needs of a child are not met in the early years, it has an enduring effect on the child. Objective: The main aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status and associated factors in children under five years attending the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital, in Accra. Methods: An analytic cross-sectional study involving children under-five years paired with their parents or guardian was carried out at the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital, in Accra. A simple random sampling (SRS) technique was used to randomly select parents or guardians of the children under-five years. Questionnaires were administered to these parents or guardians and data on factors associated with under nutrition in children below five years were collected. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were the two statistical tools used in determining the relationship between the outcome variable and various independent variables. Results: The prevalence of underweight was 26.9%, stunting 34.5% and wasting 19.3% among the study participants. The age of the child, vaccination status, mother’s age at birth of child, educational level of the mother were all found to have a positive relationship with under nutrition. Time period of start of breastfeeding, breastfeeding exclusively and bottle feeding were also found to have a positive relationship with stunting, wasting and underweight of these infants. Poor sanitation and an unprotected source of drinking water also contributed to under nutrition. Conclusion: Most of the factors found to have a relationship with under nutrition among these infants are factors that can be prevented. As such measures need to be put in place to curb them so as to reduce the high prevalence of under nutrition.