Maternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in Kenya

<p style="text-align:justify;"> <b>Objective:</b> To compare mothers’ perceptions of their own infants’ nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition.<br/> <b>Design:</b> A qualitative study and cross-sectional quantitative survey....

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Main Authors: Mwangome, M, Fegan, G, Prentice, A, Berkley, J
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2014
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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 <p style="text-align:justify;"> <b>Objective:</b> To compare mothers’ perceptions of their own infants’ nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition.<br/> <b>Design:</b> 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).<br/> <b>Setting:</b> A rural community setting in Kenya.<br/> <b>Subjects:</b> Seventy-four infants aged between 4 and 6 months, and their mothers, living in rural Kenya were enrolled.<br/> <b>Results:</b> 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&lt;−2; and 4·60 (95 % CI 1·60, 13·3) and 0·67 (95 % CI 0·49, 0·92) respectively for WAZ&lt;−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&lt;−2; and 4·31 (95 % CI 1·22, 15·0) and 0·78 (95 % CI 0·61, 1·00) respectively for WAZ&lt;−2.<br/> <b>Conclusions:</b> 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.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:ed8103c4-d50c-42ea-9cd2-2ba520bb560c2022-03-27T11:25:32ZMaternal perception of malnutrition among infants using verbal and pictorial methods in KenyaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ed8103c4-d50c-42ea-9cd2-2ba520bb560cEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordCambridge University Press2014Mwangome, MFegan, GPrentice, ABerkley, J <p style="text-align:justify;"> <b>Objective:</b> To compare mothers’ perceptions of their own infants’ nutritional status with anthropometric indicators of undernutrition.<br/> <b>Design:</b> 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).<br/> <b>Setting:</b> A rural community setting in Kenya.<br/> <b>Subjects:</b> Seventy-four infants aged between 4 and 6 months, and their mothers, living in rural Kenya were enrolled.<br/> <b>Results:</b> 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&lt;−2; and 4·60 (95 % CI 1·60, 13·3) and 0·67 (95 % CI 0·49, 0·92) respectively for WAZ&lt;−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&lt;−2; and 4·31 (95 % CI 1·22, 15·0) and 0·78 (95 % CI 0·61, 1·00) respectively for WAZ&lt;−2.<br/> <b>Conclusions:</b> 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.</p>
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