Prevalence of malnutrition and community perceptions of women's barriers to child growth: Case study in Kilindi District, Tanzania
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzania Journal of Health Research
Abstract
Introduction : Everyday lives of children depend on interactions with their parents, especially on care
and feeding practices, which are essential to their development, health, and overall well-being.
Objectives: This paper aimed to examine the prevalence of undernutrition and barriers facing women
during the growth of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months among crop farmers and agro-
pastoralists in Kilindi District.
Methods: About 136 agro-pastoralist women and 209 crop farmers were chosen using multistage
random sampling and participated in a cross-sectional survey. A structured questionnaire was used to
gather the data during the face-to-face interview. A length board and a weighing scale were used to
measure length and weight, respectively. IBM SPSS Statistics version 20, NVivo software version 8,
and WHO Anthro 3.2.1 were used to analyze the data. Significant differences in the distribution of
nutritional status were determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Significance was considered at 5%
when P≤0.05.
Results: Approximately 94.2% of crop farmers' children and 91.8% of agro-pastoralists' children were
breastfed and given complementary food. The main women's barriers to child growth were food
insecurity, workload, inadequate health facilities, culture, and inadequate nutritional knowledge. Crop
farmers had a higher prevalence of stunting (37.1%), underweight (16.3%), and wasting (7.7%) than agro-
pastoralists, who had a prevalence of stunting (28.5%), underweight (13.8%), and wasting (4.4%).
Conclusion: The crop farmers' children are more malnourished than agro-pastoralists. Income-
generating activities, such as crop and livestock production, adequate health services, labor-saving
equipment, and nutritional knowledge, have to be put into consideration by policymakers at the
household level in order to improve the nutritional status of children.
Description
Tanzania Journal of Health Research Volume 26: Issue 4, July 2025
Keywords
Breastfeeding, Complementary food, Food insecurity, Stunting
Citation
https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v26i4.8