Parental Awareness, Understanding, and Factors of Stunting among Preschool Children

Norhaini Majid; Mohd Ramadan Ab Hamid; Muhammad Fazlin Musa; Suryanto Suryanto

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v9i30.6220

Authors

Norhaini Majid Centre for Nursing Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Mohd Ramadan Ab Hamid Centre for Dietetics Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Muhammad Fazlin Musa Centre for Nursing Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Suryanto Suryanto Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v9i30.6220

Keywords:

Stunting, Awareness, Understanding, Children

Abstract

Undernutrition, including stunting, is a global issue, with significant prevalence in Asia, including Malaysia. Stunting, characterized by low height-for-age in children under five, is a critical health concern. This study focused on parents in Puncak Alam, Selangor, to assess their awareness and understanding of stunting factors. Using a cross-sectional quantitative approach with 137 participants, the study found that most parents had a good awareness and understanding of stunting. Parental education emerged as a key factor influencing understanding. These findings can guide policymakers and health professionals in reducing stunting and improving children's health in Malaysia.

References

Agyen, V. A., Annim, S. K., & Asmah, E. E. (2024). Neighbourhood mothers’ education and its differential impact on stunting: Evidence from 30 Sub-Saharan African countries. Social Science & Medicine, 340, 116462.

Anggie, A. P., & Rong, J. R. (2021). Parenting functioning in stunting management: A concept analysis. Journal of Public Health Research, 10(2), jphr.2021.2160–jphr.2021.2160. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphr.2021.2160.

Chung, J., Martens, A., Colford, J. M., Hubbard, A. E., Coyle, J. M., Sofrygin, O., Cai, W., Jilek, W., Rosete, S., Nguyen, A., Pokpongkiat, N. N., Djajadi, S., Seth, A., Jung, E., Chung, E. O., Malenica, I., Hejazi, N., Li, H., & Hafen, R. (2023). Child wasting and concurrent stunting in low- and middle-income countries. Nature, 621(7979), 558–567. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06480-z.

Habimana, S., & Biracyaza, E. (2019). Risk factors of stunting among children under 5 years of age in the Eastern and Western provinces of Rwanda: Analysis of Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2014/2015. Pediatric Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 10, 115–130. https://doi.org/10.2147/phmt.s222198

Haron, Z., Rohana, J., Noor, A., Azahadi, O., & Hashimah. (2023). Stunting and its associated factors among children below 5 years old on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia: Evidence from the National Health and Morbidity Survey. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 30(5), 155–168. https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2023.30.5.13

Kinshella, M.-L. W., Moore, S. E., & Elango, R. (2020). Beyond Reproduction: The "First 1,000 Days" approach to nutrition through a gendered rights-based lens.Health and Human Rights, 22(2), 113-123. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7762907/

Kumar, M., Goswami, P., Chakraborty, A., Ray, S., & Das, D. (2022). Nutritional status of tribal under-five children in a community development block of Birbhumdistrict, West Bengal: A cross-sectional study. Acta Medica International, 9(1), 36-36. https://doi.org/10.4103/amit.amit_24_22

Lee, W. S., Jalaludin, M. Y., Khoh, K. M., Kok, J. L., Nadarajaw, T., Soosai, A. P., Mukhtar, F., Fadzil, Y. J., Zaini, A. A., Mohd-Taib, S. H., Rosly, R. M., Khoo, A. J., & Cheang, H. K. (2022). Prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors in young children in Malaysia: A nationwide survey. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.913850.

Lut, I., Woodman, J., Armitage, A., Ingram, E., Harron, K., & Hardelid, P. (2021). Protocol: Health outcomes, healthcare use and development in children born into or growing up in single-parent households: a systematic review study protocol. BMJ Open, 11(2).

Made, G., Gurendro, B., Basuki, R., Nurhayati, N., Ristrini, N., Endah, P., Aris, Y., Suryatma, A., Samsudin, M., & Raharni. (2023). Risk factors for stunting among children under five years in the province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1640–1640. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021640.

Mediani, H., Hendrawati, S., Tuti, P., Surya, M., & Suryani, M. (2022). Factors affecting the knowledge and motivation of health cadres in stunting prevention among children in Indonesia. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 15, 1069–1082. https://doi.org/10.2147/jmdh.s356736

Muda, W. M. W., Sundaram, J. K., & Gen, T. Z. (2019). Addressing malnutrition in Malaysia. Khazanah Research Institute: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Muliadi, T., Ahmad, A., Nur, A., Marissa, N., Marisa, Junaidi, ... & Annisa, D. (2023). The coverage of indicators of sensitive and specific intervention programs and prevalence of stunting under-five children: A cross-sectional study in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Nutrition and Health, 02601060231164664.

Mustakim, M. R., Irawan, R., Irmawati, M., & Setyoboedi, B. (2022). Impact of Stunting on Development of Children between 1-3 Years of Age. Ethiopian journal of health sciences, 32(3).

Pecora, F., Persico, F., Argentiero, A., Neglia, C., & Esposito, S. (2020). The role of micronutrients in support of the immune response against viral infections. Nutrients, 12(10), 3198. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103198

Rayhan, S. (2022). What matters most for early childhood development? Evidence from Malda district, India. PloS One, 17(6), e0268985-e0268985. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268985

Rosmala, N., Miranti, N., Diah Mutiarasari, A., Arsunan Arsin, A., Veny Hadju, V., Anwar Mallongi, A., Imtihanah Amri, I., Haerani Haruni, H., Rosa Dwi Wahyuni, R., None Rahma, N., & Faris, A. (2020). Determinants of the incidence of stunting in the working area of Kinovaro Sigi Health Center. Enfermería Clínica, 30, 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enfcli.2019.10.077

Soekatri, M. Y., Sandjaja, S., & Syauqy, A. (2020). Stunting was associated with reported morbidity, parental education and socioeconomic status in 0.5–12-year-old Indonesian children. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(17), 6204.

Tello, B., Rivadeneira, M. F., Moncayo, A. L., Buitrón, J., Astudillo, F., Estrella, A., & Torres, A. L. (2022). Breastfeeding, feeding practices and stunting in indigenous Ecuadorians under 2 years of age. International Breastfeeding Journal, 17(1), 19.

Utami, R. A., Setiawan, A., & Fitriyani, P. (2019). Identifying causal risk factors for stunting in children under five years of age in South Jakarta, Indonesia. Enfermeria clinica, 29, 606-611.

Vilar-Compte, M., Burrola-Méndez, S., Lozano-Marrufo, A., Ferré-Eguiluz, I., Flores, D., Gaitán-Rossi, P., ... & Pérez-Escamilla, R. (2021). Urban poverty and nutrition challenges associated with accessibility to a healthy diet: a global systematic literature review. International journal for equity in health, 20, 1-19.

Win, H., Shafique, S., Sharmin, M., Wallenborn, J., Probst-Hensch, N., & Fink, G. (2022). Association between mother’s work status and child stunting in urban slums: A cross-sectional assessment of 346 child-mother dyads in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020). Archives of Public Health, 80(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00948-6 World Health Organization. (2019, November 14). Malnutrition. https://www.who.int/health-topics/malnutrition#tab=tab_