Chepkirui Francesca, Osero Justus, Nyandieka Lilian, Hitachi Mami, Kaneko Satoshi, Wekesa Norah, Changoma Juma, Wanjihia Violet
School of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya.
Centre for Public Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Nairobi, Kenya.
East Afr Health Res J. 2023;7(2):158-165. doi: 10.24248/eahrj.v7i2.727. Epub 2023 Nov 30.
Dietary Diversity (DD) is an important component of Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN). Globally, it is recommended that children aged 6-23 months be fed on diverse diets as a public health measure in curbing malnutrition. In Kenya, stunting rates among children below the age of five years is 26% and diversifying of diets is still sub-optimal. The study sought to assess maternal factors associated with dietary diversity scores among children aged 6-23 months in Kwale County, where stunting stands at 29%.
A cross sectional study design was adopted and a random sample of 244 mothers with children aged 6-23 months, residing in locations under Health and Demographic System Surveillance (HDSS) program participated in the study.
Mothers aged 17-68 years were interviewed. Children's DD scores ranged from 0 to 5 with a mean of 2.2±0.9, only 8.2% of the children met the Minimum Dietary Diversity score (MDDs) of 4 food groups or more in a day. A bivariate regression analysis to determine factors associated with children's dietary diversity scores showed significant positive relationship with mother's educational level (r=0.186, P<.000, α=.01), household wealth index (r=0.163, P<.000, α=.01) and the child's age (r=0.396, P<.004, α=.01).
The study concludes that mothers' level of education, households' wealth index and child's age are factors associated with dietary diversity scores of children. Higher dietary diverse scores were observed among older children in the study age categories, from wealthy families and under care of mothers with higher education levels. In the study area however, only 8.2% of children met the minimum dietary diversity score necessitating targeted nutrition education of mothers and implementation of economic development initiatives to boost availability and consumption of diverse diets. A consideration of child age specific interventions will also address nutritional needs and preferences at different stages.
饮食多样性（DD）是婴幼儿营养（IYCN）的一个重要组成部分。在全球范围内，建议对6至23个月大的儿童提供多样化饮食，作为遏制营养不良的一项公共卫生措施。在肯尼亚，五岁以下儿童的发育迟缓率为26%，饮食多样化程度仍不理想。该研究旨在评估夸莱县6至23个月大儿童饮食多样性得分与母亲因素之间的关联，该县的发育迟缓率为29%。
采用横断面研究设计，随机抽取244名居住在健康与人口监测（HDSS）项目所在地、孩子年龄在6至23个月的母亲参与研究。
对年龄在17至68岁的母亲进行了访谈。儿童的饮食多样性得分在0至5分之间，平均分为2.2±0.9，只有8.2%的儿童达到了一天中4种或更多食物组的最低饮食多样性得分（MDDs）。一项用于确定与儿童饮食多样性得分相关因素的双变量回归分析显示，与母亲的教育水平（r = 0.186，P <.000，α =.01）、家庭财富指数（r = 0.163，P <.000，α =.01）和孩子的年龄（r = 0.396，P <.004，α =.01）呈显著正相关。
该研究得出结论，母亲的教育水平、家庭财富指数和孩子的年龄是与儿童饮食多样性得分相关的因素。在研究年龄组中，年龄较大的儿童、来自富裕家庭且由受过高等教育的母亲照料的儿童，其饮食多样性得分较高。然而，在研究地区，只有8.2%的儿童达到了最低饮食多样性得分，因此有必要对母亲进行有针对性的营养教育，并实施经济发展举措，以增加多样化饮食的供应和消费。考虑针对儿童年龄的特定干预措施也将满足不同阶段的营养需求和偏好。
