Prevalence of undernutrition among U-5 children & factors associated with health care seeking behaviors of mothers: a cross sectional study at slum areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

1.1 Introduction Undernutrition amongst children under the age of five of age in urban slums of Dhaka is a concerning public health issue and needs to be addressed for preventing further worsening of the condition. Health seeking behaviors of the mothers of the under 5 aged children plays a crucial role in determining nutrition status of the children. This study attempts to find the prevalence of undernutrition among under 5 years old children in the urban slums of Dhaka. The study additionally aims to find the factors associated with health seeking behavior of the mothers of under 5 years of aged malnourished children in urban slums of Dhaka. 1.2 Method The study employed a quantitative approach in between 15th October 2022 to 11th January 2023 with cross-sectional design and the sample size was 437. Descriptive analysis, chi-square test and logistic regression were done to analyse the data. 1.3 Findings The prevalence of undernutrition among the under 5 years children in urban slums of Dhaka was found to be 42%. According to the mothers the prevalence rate is 56% (245) amongst children under the age of five. Among the 245, 83% mother asked for healthcare for their child undernutrition or nutrition related disease. Moreover, Religion and perception of mothers about the severity of the undernutrition caused disease in under 5 years old child are two significant factors that were found to be associated with health seeking behavior of mothers. 1.4 Conclusion The findings of this study can be used to design intervention for the improvement of nutritional status of the children under 5 yeas in urban slums of Dhaka. Moreover, nutrition campaign can be modified according to the found factors associated with the health seeking behaviour of mothers to increase their knowledge about undernutrition