Individual and contextual factors associated with childhood stunting in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis |
Authors: |
Victor T. Adekanmbi, Gbenga A. Kayode and Olalekan A. Uthman |
Source: |
Maternal and Child Nutrition, 9(2): 244-59; DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00361.x |
Topic(s): |
Child health Children under five District-level estimates Nutrition
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Country: |
Africa
Nigeria
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Published: |
OCT 2011 |
Abstract: |
Abstract
Stunting, a form of undernutrition, is the best measure of child health inequalities as it captures multiple
dimensions of children’s health, development and the environment where they live.The aim of this study was to
quantify the predictors of childhood stunting in Nigeria. This study used data obtained from the 2008 Nigeria
Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).A total of 28 647 children aged 0–59 months included in NDHS in
2008 were analysed in this study. We applied multilevel multivariate logistic regression analysis in which
individual-level factors were at the first level and community-level factors at the second level. The percentage
change in variance of the full model accounted for about 46% in odds of stunting across the communities. The
present study found that the following predictors increased the odds of childhood stunting: male gender, age
above 11 months, multiple birth, low birthweight, low maternal education, low maternal body mass index, poor
maternal health-seeking behaviour, poor household wealth and short birth interval. The community-level
predictors found to have significant association with childhood stunting were: child residing in community with
high illiteracy rate and NorthWest and North East regions of the country. In conclusion, this study revealed that
both individual- and community-level factors are significant determinants of childhood stunting in Nigeria. |
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