| dc.description.abstract | Background: Families with parental alcoholism are characterized by significantly lower socioeconomic status negatively affecting the nutritional status of their under five years children compared to other household members. Child undernutrition is a persistent public health challenge in Kyegegwa sub-county, Kyegegwa District, Uganda, with the prevalence wasting of 5.3% (UNICEF, 2023). The WHO report of 2023 also showed that Uganda has the highest alcohol consumption per capita (12.21litres) in Africa where nearly 10% of Ugandans have an alcohol use disorder, which exceeds the Africa region's average of 3.7%. Households with parental alcoholism still struggle with child malnutrition in Uganda and yet no study has been done to assess this relationship.
Objective: This study therefore is aimed to assess the association between household parental alcoholism and the nutritional status of children aged 6-59 months among households in Kyegegwa sub-county, Kyegegwa district, Uganda.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed and analyzed data from 768 households sampled through multistage cluster sampling, followed by simple random sampling. A mixed-methods approach, combining a quantitative and quantitative methods was used. Quantitative data were collected using Kobo collect tool. The AUDIT tool was used to assess parental alcoholism while child nutritional status was determined using anthropometry. Logistic regression was used to identify socio-demographic factors that exacerbate the relationship between household parental alcoholism and child undernutrition with statistical significance at p<0.05. Qualitative data were also gathered from 3 Focus Group Discussions (male parents, female parents and Village Health Teams) and 5 Key Informants (local leaders, health and social workers) to explore perceptions, experiences, and contextual factors related to household parental alcoholism and child undernutrition. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20, ENA for SMART and Open code software respectively.
Results: The prevalence of wasting in Kyegegwa sub county was 11.1% (MAM=5.2% and SAM =5.9%), stunting prevalence was 24.6% and the prevalence of underweight at 15.2%. Children (6-59 months of age) in the Subcounty with at least 1 form of undernutrition i.e., wasting, stunting and underweight were 32.9%. The prevalence of household parental alcoholism in Kyegegwa sub county was 22.2% with the majority being male parents (74.5%).
The relationship between household parental alcoholism and the general child undernutrition status was statistically significant i.e., (p<0.05). The odds of children aged 6-59 months from households with parental alcoholism being malnourished are 1.508 times higher compared to those of children from households without parental alcoholism and its statistically significance is high, at 95% CI: (AOR=1.508; at 95%CI: 1.032-2.203). The odd ratio for child undernutrition increased when factors like sex of the child, child illness and child age were adjusted for, indicating a stronger association with child undernutrition that is highly significant when the latter variables are controlled for (AOR=2.946; at 95% CI: 1.874-4.331).
Conclusion: Household parental alcoholism was found to be negatively associated with child malnutrition. Financial stress, disrupted feeding behaviors, gender dynamics, food availability, older child age groups and child illness are all interconnected factors that explain the high rates of undernutrition in households with parental alcoholism. Female children and older age groups are significantly more likely to be undernourished. | en_US |
