Nutritional Status and its Associated Factors Among Under-5 Madhesi Dalit Children Residing in Birgunj Metropolitan City

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition is a major public health issue in Nepal. This study finds out the status of nutrition and explores the factors associated with the nutritional status among under-5 children in Madhesi Dalit residing in Birgunj Metropolitan City, which helps to map out the magnitude and distribution of malnutrition. 

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 227 under-5 Madhesi Dalit children. Purposive sampling was used to select wards of Birgunj. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with mothers and anthropometric measurements of 6-59-month-old children were used to collect data. Data entry and analysis were done using IBM SPSS version 20 software. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed, as well as chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests to analyze data and assess the association between variables.

Results: This study showed that 95.2% of children were well-nourished and 4.8% of children were malnourished. It shows that the nutritional status of Madhesi Dalit children of Birgunj Metropolitan City was well-nourished. Factors associated with nutritional status were found to be the age of children (6-59 months) (CI= 95%, x2 = 4.740, p-value= 0.029 and df= 1) and sex of children (CI= 95%, x2= 6.2, p-value= 0.045 and df= 2).

Conclusions: The study concluded that the age and sex of the child have a significant association with the nutritional status of children. Factors other than the study factors of this study could be taken to find more influencing factors of nutritional status.