Nutritional Status of Under–5 Children attending Anganwadi Centres of Rural Field Practice Area of RIMS, Ranchi

Dr Kumari Asha Kiran; Dr. Abhishek Kumar; Dr. Vivek Kashyap

Volume : VII, Issue : II, February - 2018

Nutritional Status of Under–5 Children attending Anganwadi Centres of Rural Field Practice Area of RIMS, Ranchi

Dr Kumari Asha Kiran, Dr. Abhishek Kumar, Dr. Vivek Kashyap

Abstract :

Background: Malnutrition is like an iceberg; most people in the developing countries live under the burden of malnutrition. At present in India 29.4% children under – 5 years are underweight. Malnutrition makes the child more susceptible to infection, recovery is slower & mortality is higher. Objectives: The present study aims to describe socio–demographic profile and categorisation of children on the basis of malnutrition attending the anganwadi centres (AWCs). Method: This was a record based descriptive study. Three anganwadi centres (Chakla, Dardag & Jhiri) were randomly selected in field practice area of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. Duration of study was 3 months (May 2017 to July 2017). Total sample size was 196. Templates were generated in MS Excel and data analysis was done using SPSS software. Result: Out of 196 Under–5 children, 42.8% were found to be malnourished. Moderate malnutrition was present in 39.7% (78) children while severe malnutrition was present in 2 children. Jhiri AWC reported 68.75% (55) moderately malnourished children with highest number despite supply of Take Home Rations (THR). Both severely malnourished child were from Dardag AWC. Most children (67.86%) were male belonging to non–tribal ethnicity. Low birth weight was found to be associated with 30.1 % children. Almost all (97.9%) children were availing government scheme & were fully immunized. Conclusion: Despite services being provided by the Government for children from rural areas through AWCs, still a large number children were found to be malnourished. So proper growth monitoring and adherence to ‘take home rations‘ should be done regularly by Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).