What matters in good health status of 1-year-old children? - A cross-sectional study of the perinatal factors.

BACKGROUND

A healthy child can make way for a healthy adult. Some of the factors that can be used to determine the health of a young child are nutritional status of the child, the developmental milestones achieved, and frequency of illness.

OBJECTIVES

The health status of children and associated factors are determined.

METHODS

This is a community-based cross-sectional study with 271 participants. The height and weight of the child were measured; questions were asked regarding developmental milestones achieved and frequent illnesses. An interview schedule was used to enquire about the determinants of health status. Descriptive statistics were done; Chi-square test and regression were used to determine association between the health status of children and determinants.

RESULTS

A total of 127 (46.86%) were found to have a good health status. Family type (Chi square value 9.568; value = 0.002), birth spacing (Chi square 20.540; value < 0.001), term or pre-term birth (Chi square 4.598; value = 0.032), chronic medical problem in the child (Chi square 11.074; value = 0.001), and immunization status of the child (Chi square 5.666; value = 0.017) were found to have significant association with the health status of the child. By logistic regression, pre-term child birth and family type were found to have higher odds.

CONCLUSION

For better health of the child, specific focus on birth spacing, term birth of baby, better care of the ill, and complete immunization play vital roles.