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Factors Associated with Malnutrition among Tribal Children in India: A Non-Parametric Approach
Authors: Debnath A, Bhattacharjee N.
Source: Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, Jan 9. [Epub ahead of print], doi: 10.1093/tropej/fmt106
Topic(s): Child health
Nutrition
Country: Asia
  India
Published: JAN 2014
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of malnutrition among the tribal children in India. The investigation is based on secondary data compiled from the National Family Health Survey-3. We used a classification and regression tree model, a non-parametric approach, to address the objective. Our analysis shows that breastfeeding practice, economic status, antenatal care of mother and women's decision-making autonomy are negatively associated with malnutrition among tribal children. We identify maternal malnutrition and urban concentration of household as the two risk factors for child malnutrition. The identified associated factors may be used for designing and targeting preventive programmes for malnourished tribal children. KEYWORDS: India, Scheduled tribe, child malnutrition, classification and regression tree model