Jenkins C, Heywood P
P N G Med J. 1984 Mar;27(1):11-5.
A large proportion of Papua New Guinean children exhibit growth retardation early in the first year of life despite continued breastfeeding. Numerous investigators have suggested that traditional concepts and practices concerned with the introduction of solid foods are responsible for the observed poor growth. While there is recently some evidence to support this idea in one coastal population, the hypothesis warrants empirical testing. It is suggested that food taboos and other concepts and behaviours related to feeding children be carefully described and, if possible, quantified as a function of age, thereby linking behaviour to growth curves in a testable manner. A directed interview, derived from extended ethnographic research in community foodways and known as the Maternal and Child Health Indigenous Knowledge, or MACHIK Interview has been developed for use in Papua New Guinea societies. In this paper a short form designed specifically for gathering information on beliefs about child feeding is presented. Annotations to the questions are included to enable use by those having little experience or training in ethnographic methods.
