The comprehension of mothers on the nutritional status of children aged 3-5 years in Greater Taung Local Municipality, North-West Province

Abstract

Malnutrition, especially in childhood, is a major public health concern globally. It is estimated to contribute to more than one-third of all child deaths globally, with approximately 45% of mortality in children under five years from low and middle-income countries. The study aimed to investigate mothers' comprehension of the nutritional status of their children in the Greater Taung Local Municipality. The study design was cross-sectional, following quantitative methods. The target population were mothers and their children aged 3-5 years in GTLM. Two-stage sampling was used. Firstly, simple random sampling was used to select Early Childhood Development Centres, giving them an equal chance of being selected for the study. Secondly, a systematic random sampling method was used to select 236 mothers with children aged 3-5 years. Data was collected with a questionnaire. Data analysis was done using the Statistical and Data Analysis version 18. Descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies and standard deviation were used to describe and summarise the data. Fisher’s exact test was used for the association between a child’s anthropometric status and the mother’s nutritional knowledge. Anthropometric measurements were analysed using the WHO AnthroPlus software. Proper and due consideration was given to research ethics. The University of Venda approved and provided the ethical clearance certificate. Results showed that most mothers did comprehend the interpretation of the direction of the curves in the Road to Health Booklet. Furthermore, the study showed that mothers had average (n= 125; 54%) and adequate (n= 81; 34.3%) knowledge, which is positive for their nutritional outcomes and those of their children. Regarding anthropometric status, most children (n = 227; 96.2%) presented with a normal weight-for-age. Stunting was a concern (n=33; 14.0%). Underweight and wasting were n=9 (3.8%) and n=20 (8.5%), respectively. A significant association was observed between mothers’ nutrition knowledge and weight for height (p=0.009) and BMI (p=0.038).