Household and child feeding practice factors affecting stunting status among Raglai children under five in Vietnam

Abstract

Background: Little is known about ethnic minorities in Vietnam, and few studies have been conducted about nutrition among these populations. Ethnic minorities living in mountainous areas like the Raglai have low socioeconomic status, which is strongly related to poor nutrition. This study assessed stunting prevalence in Raglai children under age five in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam and examined the relationships between potential risk factors and stunting status.

Methods: The study used data from a household survey conducted by the Khanh Hoa Department of Health during January to May 2013. The sample size of this study is 1,365 cases, which were selected by simple random sampling. To define the outcome variable, the children who had Z-score of length- or height-for-age below minus two are categorized as stunted, and those having the Z-score equal to or above the cut-off value are grouped as non-stunted. The household factors examined include educational attainment of the mothers, housing standard and water source, and child feeding practice factors including breastfeeding duration. Logistic regression analysis with odds ratio and 95% confidence interval was used to examine the relationship between the outcome variable and the selected factors.

Results: The study found that about two-thirds of the Raglai children are stunted. Age, gender and weight at birth of the children are found to be significantly related to stunting status. Older children are significantly more likely to have stunted growth compared with children aged under two, girls are twice as likely to be stunted as boys, and children whose birth weight was below 2,500 grams have significantly higher odds of being stunted than those who had a birth weight of 2,500 grams and above. When characteristics of children were controlled, household factors were also found to be important. Those whose mothers have no or low education are more likely to be stunted. Children who did not receive intestinal parasite treatment in the last 6 months also have significantly higher odds of stunting than those who did receive treatment.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that stunting of young children is a serious problem in the Raglai community, and is related to household-level socioeconomic factors that are shared by other ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Recommendations to reduce stunting call for improving the living conditions of Raglai people, providing and supporting education and enhancement of utilities, such as water and medical centers, for the community.