NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF MOTHERS AND THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN 6-59 MONTHS IN MALAVA, KAKAMEGA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The Kenyan government has been implementing programmes aimed at promoting good maternal nutrition practices through nutrition education programs. Despite the efforts, childhood malnutrition is still a challenge in Kenya with some counties reporting high prevalence than the others. Inadequate or lack of nutrition knowledge and poor nutrition practices may be contributing to malnutrition among children in Kenya. This study aimed at determining the relationship between the nutrition knowledge and practices of mothers and the nutritional status of children aged 6-59 months in Malava, Kakamega County. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in South Kabras, Butali-Chegulo and Chemuche wards of Malava Sub-County. A sample size of 344 mother-child pairs was calculated using Fishers formula and study respondents were recruited through simple random sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio-demographic characteristics, nutrition knowledge, nutrition practices of mothers and the nutritional status of children aged 6-59 months. Qualitative data was collected using a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Guide with the mothers. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. Chi-square, Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression were used to test the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Child nutritional status data was analyzed using World Health Organization Anthropometric software (WHO Anthro). Content analysis by themes was used to manually analyze qualitative data from FGDs and the data reported verbatim. The socio demographics and economic status data show that 52.9% of the mothers were aged below 25 years, 46.8% had completed primary education, 83.7% are unemployed, 77.9% earn less than Ksh. 5,000 per month and 85.5% practice farming as their major economic activity. The findings also showed that 95.9% had received information on breastfeeding and 83.4% got the information from hospital. Further, 80.8% of the mothers knew the importance of exclusive breastfeeding while 78.5% knew the correct age for introduction of complementary feeding. On the nutrition practices, 95.3% practiced exclusive breastfeeding. 40.7% were still breastfeeding at the time of this study. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among the children were 20.9%, 12.5% and 7.5% respectively. There was a positive significant association between overall nutrition knowledge and the nutritional status of children (p=0.046, 95% CI). The prevalence of nutrition indicators reported in this were higher compared to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey report. Significant associations were reported between knowledge on; length of exclusive breastfeeding, number of times to feed children of 6-8 month and 9-11 months and the nutritional status of children. The number of feeds given to a child also had significant association with child nutritional status. Overall nutrition knowledge of mother had a significant relationship and the predictor of child nutritional status. The Ministry of Health in Kakamega County, in collaboration with other ministries and development partners should strengthen mother’s nutrition knowledge through community nutrition education.