Prevalence and Correlates of Stunting among Children Aged 6–23 Months from Poor Households in Rwanda

Jean de Dieu Habimana (), Aline Uwase, Noel Korukire, Sara Jewett, Maryse Umugwaneza, Lawrence Rugema and Cyprien Munyanshongore
Additional contact information
Jean de Dieu Habimana: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda
Aline Uwase: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda
Noel Korukire: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda
Sara Jewett: School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Maryse Umugwaneza: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda
Lawrence Rugema: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda
Cyprien Munyanshongore: School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 4286, Rwanda

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Stunted linear growth continues to be a public health problem that overwhelms the entire world and, particularly, developing countries. Despite several interventions designed and implemented to reduce stunting, the rate of 33.1% is still high for the proposed target of 19% in 2024. This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of stunting among children aged 6–23 months from poor households in Rwanda. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 817 mother–child dyads (two individuals from one home) living in low-income families in five districts with a high prevalence of stunting. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of stunting. In addition, we used bivariate analysis and a multivariate logistic regression model to measure the strength of the association between childhood stunting and exposure variables. The prevalence of stunting was 34.1%. Children from households without a vegetable garden (AOR = 2.165, p -value < 0.01), children aged 19–23 months (AOR = 4.410, p -value = 0.01), and children aged 13–18 months (AOR = 2.788, p -value = 0.08) showed increased likelihood of stunting. On the other hand, children whose mothers were not exposed to physical violence (AOR = 0.145, p -value < 0.001), those whose fathers were working (AOR = 0.036, p -value = 0.001), those whose parents were both working (AOR = 0.208, p -value = 0.029), and children whose mothers demonstrated good hand washing practice (AOR = 0.181, p -value < 0.001) were less likely to be stunted. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating the promotion of handwashing practices, owning vegetable gardens, and intimate partner violence prevention in the interventions to fight child stunting.

Keywords: Rwanda; stunting; children; poor; household; factors; intimate partner violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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