Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya
OBJECTIVE: To compare mothers' perceptions of their own infants' nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition. DESIGN: A qualitative study and cross-sectional quantitative survey. The qualitative study involved developing tools to assess mother's perception. Two...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2014
|
| _version_ | 1797084314531266560 |
|---|---|
| author | Mwangome, M Fegan, G Prentice, A Berkley, J |
| author_facet | Mwangome, M Fegan, G Prentice, A Berkley, J |
| author_sort | Mwangome, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | OBJECTIVE: To compare mothers' perceptions of their own infants' nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition. DESIGN: A qualitative study and cross-sectional quantitative survey. The qualitative study involved developing tools to assess mother's perception. Two methods of verbal description and a pictorial scale were developed. The quantitative survey involved measuring maternal perception and comparing it with the anthropometric measures of weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) and mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score (MUACZ). SETTING: A rural community setting in Kenya. SUBJECTS: Seventy-four infants aged between 4 and 6 months, and their mothers, living in rural Kenya were enrolled. RESULTS: Using verbal description, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3·57 (95 % CI 1·44, 9·98) and 0·69 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·96) respectively for MUACZ<-2; and 4·60 (95 % CI 1·60, 13·3) and 0·67 (95 % CI 0·49, 0·92) respectively for WAZ<-2. Using the pictorial scale, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 8·30 (95 % CI 1·91, 36·3) and 0·69 (95 % CI 0·52, 0·93) respectively for MUACZ<-2; and 4·31 (95 % CI 1·22, 15·0) and 0·78 (95 % CI 0·61, 1·00) respectively for WAZ<-2. CONCLUSIONS: In a rural community, mothers better identify undernutrition in their infants using a pictorial scale than verbal description. However, neither can replace formal anthropometric assessment. Objective anthropometric tools should be validated for identification of severe acute malnutrition among infants aged less than 6 months. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:53:45Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:9b065603-4a99-48a5-bd6d-3220647c993f |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:53:45Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:9b065603-4a99-48a5-bd6d-3220647c993f2022-03-27T00:25:35ZMaternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in KenyaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:9b065603-4a99-48a5-bd6d-3220647c993fEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordCambridge University Press2014Mwangome, MFegan, GPrentice, ABerkley, JOBJECTIVE: To compare mothers' perceptions of their own infants' nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition. DESIGN: A qualitative study and cross-sectional quantitative survey. The qualitative study involved developing tools to assess mother's perception. Two methods of verbal description and a pictorial scale were developed. The quantitative survey involved measuring maternal perception and comparing it with the anthropometric measures of weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) and mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score (MUACZ). SETTING: A rural community setting in Kenya. SUBJECTS: Seventy-four infants aged between 4 and 6 months, and their mothers, living in rural Kenya were enrolled. RESULTS: Using verbal description, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3·57 (95 % CI 1·44, 9·98) and 0·69 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·96) respectively for MUACZ<-2; and 4·60 (95 % CI 1·60, 13·3) and 0·67 (95 % CI 0·49, 0·92) respectively for WAZ<-2. Using the pictorial scale, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 8·30 (95 % CI 1·91, 36·3) and 0·69 (95 % CI 0·52, 0·93) respectively for MUACZ<-2; and 4·31 (95 % CI 1·22, 15·0) and 0·78 (95 % CI 0·61, 1·00) respectively for WAZ<-2. CONCLUSIONS: In a rural community, mothers better identify undernutrition in their infants using a pictorial scale than verbal description. However, neither can replace formal anthropometric assessment. Objective anthropometric tools should be validated for identification of severe acute malnutrition among infants aged less than 6 months. |
| spellingShingle | Mwangome, M Fegan, G Prentice, A Berkley, J Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title | Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title_full | Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title_short | Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya |
| title_sort | maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in kenya |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mwangomem maternalperceptionofmalnutritionamonginfantsusingverbalandpictorialmethodsinkenya AT fegang maternalperceptionofmalnutritionamonginfantsusingverbalandpictorialmethodsinkenya AT prenticea maternalperceptionofmalnutritionamonginfantsusingverbalandpictorialmethodsinkenya AT berkleyj maternalperceptionofmalnutritionamonginfantsusingverbalandpictorialmethodsinkenya |