Factors Influencing Child Nutritional Status in Kenya

Malnutrition affects an individual's growth potential and increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. Both in scale and in severity, children aged three years and below are the most affected. A number of factors influence child malnutrition either directly or indirectly. This work focused on finding out the bio-demographic, socio-economic and cultural factors influencing child malnutrition in Kenya. Malnutrition was considered to represent child nutritional status. Selected variables drawn from the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey(KDHS) data were analyzed both at the bi-variate and multivariate levels. The findings reveal the extent to which the selected variables influence child nutritional status in Kenya. Further, they provide a clear insight into the problem of child malnutrition. Such information is useful in developing appropriate strategies meant to promote child development and survival not only in Kenya, but also in many other countries. This work is useful for students, researchers, policy makers and implementers, and all stakeholders in the public health sector.