Under-Five Undernutrition Prevalence, Its Inequality, Associated Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors in Uganda: Secondary Analysis of 2019/2020 National Panel Data

Abstract

Background: Undernutrition is a type of malnutrition in which there are deficiencies in nutrient intake. It is caused by inadequate dietary intake and disease. Undernutrition contributes toward poor health outcomes of a child, and imposes a financial burden on the child’s household. This study aims to determine under-five undernutrition prevalence, its inequality and associated socioeconomic and demographic factors in Uganda. Methodology: We analyzed secondary data of 2019/2020 Uganda National Panel Survey. From 815 households, selected 815 children under 5 who had complete data on age (months), weight (kilograms), and height (centimeters). This was used for computing the z scores. Based on the World Health Organization reference, we used the z scores to determine the children’s nutritional status. We then compared households of malnourished and those of the well-nourished children using the student’s t -test and the chi square (χ 2 ) test respectively. Results: Among 815 children included in the study, undernutrition prevalence was 16.9% stunted, 6.1% wasted, and 11.8% underweight. This corresponds to catastrophic health expenditure being 1.1%, 1.7%, and 0.7% lower among households with stunted, wasted and underweight children respectively, compared to households with well-nourished children. The distribution was not statistically significant: ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>χ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>P</mml:mi> <mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> = 2.331 (0.312)), ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>χ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>P</mml:mi> <mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> = 0.863 (0.649)), and ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>χ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>P</mml:mi> <mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> = 0.335 (0.846)), respectively. Conclusion: The odds of undernutrition didn’t differ by nutritional status, but undernourished children had significantly higher transport expenses. MoH should invest in community healthcare services to reduce these costs.