Assessment of knowledge as a factor associated with undernutrition and its correlates among mothers of children below the age of five in two rural-urban areas of ndola Zambia.

Abstract

Background: Under- nutrition affects a lot of children in Zambia and contributes to the high rates of morbidity and mortality. Some of the common causes of this hunger in children generally include; poverty, lack agriculture investments, lack of knowledge and HIV/AIDS. The objective of this study was to establish the levels of knowledge among mothers/caregivers in these two areas on under nutrition in under-five children and its association with other known factors related to under-nutrition. Method: A cross sectional study was done in Chipulukusu and Masala, rural-urban areas of Ndola using a standardized questionnaire. A Chi-squared test was used to test for associations between knowledge and other risk factors, and a result of less than 5% was considered significant. Results: The study involved a total of 670 households of which 320 were from Chipulukusu and 350 from Masala. The study showed that the associations of knowledge with age, education, occupation, income, number of occupants and meals were not significant. Conclusion: There was average knowledge on under nutrition among women and there was no association between knowledge and social-demographic factors related to under- nutrition.