In this study, six regression equations are used to determine the effects of credit and other factors on the nutritional status of boys and girls in Malawi. No significant effects of access to credit on child nutritional status were found. Same-sex parental preference for child nutrition was found. Infrastructural variables are determined to have the most significant influence in reducing child malnutrition levels. Access to credit is a new measure and its limitations are brought out in the study. / Master of Science

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Malnutrition is a big public health concern in Malawi. Almost 40% of under-five children in Malawi suffer from malnutrition. Children born to poor mothers with low education levels have higher chances of being malnourished. Great disparities are also seen between children born in rural areas and those born in cities and towns. This research examines the linkages between mothers’ education attainment and child malnutrition. The Capability Approach and the UNICEF Conceptual Framework on child malnutrition was used in ascertaining how education affects mother’s choices and practices on child’s health and nutrition. The Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method Design was used. Combining elements of Qualitative and Quantitative research methods to provide depth and breadth of how mother’s education affects child’s health and nutrition. Findings from the Quantitative analysis of the 2015-2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Surveys data on child malnutrition and women’s education, informed the qualitative approach. The results guided in purposively sampling participants for the Qualitative research. Stata 14 was used to analyse quantitative data. Themes were drawn from the qualitative data and an analysis of the recurring themes was done using Atlas.ti 8. The study found that there is an association between mother’s education and child health. Children born to mothers with secondary and higher education qualification have lower odds of malnutrition and poor health. Inadequate knowledge on nutrition, food and nutrition insecurity, poverty and low welfare status of mothers with low education levels are contributing factors to high incidences of malnutrition among their children. Malawi needs to invest in girl’s education; particularly in rural areas where many girls do not transition to secondary school.

Background In Nyanza in western Kenya are 30,5% of children estimated as malnourished. It is a family situation that nurses often come in contact with. Therefore it is of interest to know how nurses work with parents of malnourished children when they have a significant role in developing the family's knowledge and child health. Aim. The aim is to investigate how nurses experience that they are working with parents of malnourished children. Method. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with a life-world approach were conducted. All respondents work at St. Joseph Mission Hospital. Results. The study shows the nurses long-term goal was to change parents thought patterns regarding their situation and the role nutrition play in it. To identify each family's uniqueness is crucial to this change, the identification determines the content of the relationship and nurses' attitudes. Providing security, knowledge about nutrition, participation in the caring of the child and a personal relationship with the parents of malnourished children, are important elements in the relationship. The reflection of the nurses also constitute a significant part of the work. Discussion. The nurses work to guide parents to a change in thought patterns and can be viewed as individually foundation stones for how nurses work with parents of malnourished children. The essence is changing the parents thought patterns about their behavior, perception and knowledge regarding nutrition. To achieve optimal results, it requires that the nurse works self-reflectively, with openness and attention and that nurses design education individually. Clinical implications. How the Kenyan nurses works to distinguish empathy and sympathy in practice, can be a useful reflection in health care in Sweden. In the nurses attitudes and actions, they use their emotions to create a personal and professional relationship. The Kenyan nurses' ways of dealing with their emotions, can create new alternative approach among Swedish nurses. / Program: Sjuksköterskeutbildning

Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2008. / Childhood malnutrition is one of the conditions that have been identified by the world health organisation to be given high priority in terms of their control and management. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of childhood malnutrition in a rural village of Regae in the Limpopo province. The study found that stunting and underweight are 17.5% whilst wasting is at 12.9% in the village. Key words: childhood malnutrition, stunting, wasting, underweight, socioeconomic factors, educational level. / N/A

Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

p. 1-74 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-25T19:00:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 88888888888888.pdf: 381101 bytes, checksum: a84a514ec3ffa28119f94d1635f71b0f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva(mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-05-04T17:24:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 88888888888888.pdf: 381101 bytes, checksum: a84a514ec3ffa28119f94d1635f71b0f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-04T17:24:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 88888888888888.pdf: 381101 bytes, checksum: a84a514ec3ffa28119f94d1635f71b0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Pretende-se com este estudo compreender a relação existente entre estado de saúde mental materna e o estado nutricional infantil. O estado de saúde mental materna pode influenciar a qualidade do cuidado oferecido à criança, gerando assim resultados indesejáveis no seu desenvolvimento, como a desnutrição. Para alcançar tal objetivo, realizou-se um estudo de caso controle com uma amostra de 358 crianças de 0 a 6 anos de idade residentes na cidade de Salvador-BA, sendo 179 casos e 179 controles pareados por idade e sexo. Às mães das crianças que compuseram a amostra foram aplicados o Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) e o inquérito sócio-econômico familiar. Também foi utilizado o Inventário HOME de observações Domésticas composto por itens que são indagados à mãe e outros não interativos que correspondem às observações da interação mãe-criança. Todas as crianças foram submetidas à avaliação antropométrica e diagnosticadas como desnutridas em grau moderado ou grave pelo indicador peso por altura (inferior a -2DP). Utilizou-se análises estatísticas descritivas, univariada e regressão logística condicional, fazendo-se a modelagem através da técnica backward. Os achados demonstraram que problema de saúde mental materna aumenta em duas vezes mais o risco para a desnutrição aguda moderada ou grave, indicando que a atenção ao estado de saúde mental materna deve estar incluída nos programas de prevenção, detecção e tratamento da desnutrição, pois tais distúrbios podem influenciar a qualidade do cuidado recebido pela criança, afetando conseqüentemente o seu nível de saúde. / Salvador

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas / A desnutrição infantil é uma doença que tem suas raízes na pobreza, ocasionada por deficiências nutricionais decorrentes da insuficiente ingestão de macro e/ou micronutrientes e infecções repetidas. Nos países em desenvolvimento ainda se constitui em um grande problema de saúde pública tornando-se um dos grandes vilões da morbidade e mortalidade infantil. Nesse estudo procurou-se investigar se há associação entre paternidade e desnutrição infantil crônica. Trata-se de um estudo caso-controle em que casos são famílias com crianças desnutridas crônicas moderadas e graves, na faixa etária entre dezoito e sessenta meses de idade. A amostra foi composta por 60 famílias casos e 61 famílias controles. Dentre as variáveis relacionadas à paternidade, a não paternidade biológica (OR 3,10; IC95% 1 9,67) e escolaridade paterna (OR 3,30; IC 1,33 8,22) se mostraram como fatores de risco para a desnutrição infantil, quando analisadas individualmente. Após a regressão logística apenas a não paternidade biológica permaneceu como um fator de risco independente para a desnutrição (OR 7,13; IC95% 1,76 30,40). Dentre as variáveis sócio-demográficas estudadas evidenciou-se associação entre a desnutrição infantil crônica e a classe econômica baixa(OR 3,43; IC95% 1,04 11,32), número elevado de residentes no domicílio (OR 3,63; IC95% 1,66 7,92) e número de filhos (OR 2,84; IC95% 1,33 6,08), quando analisadas individualmente. Contudo apenas o número elevado de residentes no domicílio permaneceu como fator de risco independente para desnutrição crônica (OR 8,44; IC95% 2,58 27,59) quando as variáveis são consideradas simultaneamente na regressão logística. Encontrou-se, nesse estudo, associação entre fatores ligados à paternidade e desnutrição infantil com destaque para a não paternidade biológica.

Thesis advisor: Summer S. Hawkins / Thesis advisor: Mireya . Vilar-Compte / Child malnutrition, including overweight and stunting, is a public health concern that affects millions of families worldwide causing short- and long-term health, social and economic inequalities. The global prevalence of child overweight has increased over the past decades in countries across the economic spectrum. In contrast, the prevalence of child stunting has decreased globally yet remains the most prevalent form of child malnutrition commonly affecting children in the most vulnerable conditions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Global initiatives have been adopted in response to the high burden of child malnutrition. In order to support these initiatives, researchers have focused on informing evidence-based, affordable and effective policies and interventions to prevent child malnutrition mostly within the programmatic timeframe of the first 1,000 days, conception through the first 2 years of life, and beyond. Breastfeeding has been identified as one of the key affordable and modifiable maternal health behaviors protecting against child malnutrition. However, the protective effect of breastfeeding on child malnutrition has been discrepant across findings from LMICs and high-income countries (HICs). These inconsistencies may be due to differential contextual factors in LMICs and HICs. Theoretically grounded in the World Health Organization (WHO) conceptual models on social determinants of health and childhood stunting, as well as in the Dahlgren and Whitehead model, and cultural perspectives, the goal of this 3-paper dissertation was to assess the effect of breastfeeding duration and individual, household and area factors on child malnutrition among Mexican children aged 0 to 35 months living in México (a LMIC) and in the US (a HIC). Paper 1, hereon referred to as chapter 2, assessed the association between breastfeeding duration and child overweight while sequentially controlling for individual, household and area factors in Mexican children, and also assessed a 2-level mixed-effects logistic model accounting for households clustered within areas. We curated a subset from the 2012 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT). We found evidence for an association between breastfeeding duration and child overweight, and maternal obesity and offspring high birthweight were consistent risk factors for child overweight across models, suggesting genetic and shared environment influences. Paper 2, hereon referred to as chapter 3, used the same subset but incorporated relevant risk factors for child stunting while using the same analytical approach. We found no evidence for an association between breastfeeding duration and child stunting. However, children who were never breastfed were at higher odds for stunting compared to those breastfed <6 months. Consistent risk factors for child stunting across models were increased child age, being male, child low birthweight, maternal ethnicity (self-identifying as indigenous), maternal short stature, higher count of children aged <5 years per household, and household moderate to severe food insecurity. These findings support the intergenerational effect of early stunting and the burden of food insecurity, perpetuating the cycle of inequalities. Paper 3, hereon referred to as chapter 4, incorporated a binational approach examining the effects of breastfeeding duration and individual and household factors on child malnutrition in Mexican-American children, and then compared results with Mexican children by running separate and pooled analyses. Besides using the ENSANUT 2012 subset, we curated a new dataset using 4 waves of the 2007-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which provided data for Mexican-American children aged 0 to 35 months. ENSANUT variables were recoded to match NHANES subset. We found a protective effect of breastfeeding duration on child overweight among Mexicans and in the pooled dataset. The only consistent risk factor for child overweight among Mexican and Mexican-Americans was high birthweight. Regarding child stunting, we found no evidence for an association with breastfeeding duration but low birthweight was a risk factor across both populations, while being male and living in moderate to severe food insecure households were risk factors only for Mexican children. In general, findings from this chapter coincide with previously described patterns meaning that child stunting was mostly prevalent in LMICs such as México, and that country of residence and cultural perspectives were relevant when examining child malnutrition among Mexican immigrants. Altogether, results advance the knowledge base by providing a comparison of Mexicans sharing a nurturing system while living in 2 different sustaining systems, a LMIC- and HIC-context. Findings provide evidence for shared risk factors for child malnutrition across Mexicans in both countries as well as identifying country-specific factors. While we acknowledge that the cross-sectional design of both surveys, from which we curated our subsets, limit our ability to infer causality, these results have pertinent policy and intervention implications. Pre- and post-natal culturally-sensitive components in policies and interventions need to be aimed towards preventing proximal and distal risk factors for child malnutrition within the first 1,000 days and beyond, including the promotion and support of positive maternal health behaviors such as breastfeeding. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

En la presente investigación se realizó un estudio sobre el impacto del nivel educativo de la madre sobre la desnutrición crónica infantil en Perú para los años 2002 y 2016. Para ello, se ha empleado la base de datos Niños del Milenio, la base es una data de panel que estudia a los mismos niños durante 15 años y se divide en 5 rondas. Adicionalmente, como metodología se utilizaron modelos econométricos para variable dependiente binaria y ordinal para capturar la intensidad de la desnutrición crónica. Finalmente, se puede afirmar que la madre con educación secundaria completa o con educación técnica incompleta ayudan a reducir la posibilidad de que el niño se encuentre desnutrido crónicamente para los años 2002 y 2016 en Perú. / This paper wants to find the relationship between maternal education and stunting for the years 2002 and 2016 in Peru. The data base used is Young Lives, it is a data panel which follows the same children for a period of 15 years, and it is divided in 5 rounds. The estimation strategy used is to make a binary regression and then an ordinal regression. Finally, this paper finds that a mother with complete high school or with an incomplete technical studies will reduce the probability of the child to be stunted in Peru for the years 2002 and 2016. This paper is structured as follows. Section 1 introduces the topic, section 2 is the theoretical framework which is composed by the description of previous works and methodology, section 3 describes the data source, section 4 defines the variables, section 5 presents the estimation strategy and the main findings, and section 6 concludes the paper. / Trabajo de investigación