Predictors of the amount of intake of Ready-To- Use-Therapeutic foods among children in outpatient therapeutic programs in Nairobi, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Ochola, Sophie
Ogada, Irene A.
Odera, Colleta A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley Periodicals
Abstract
Ready-to-
use
Therapeutic Food (RUTF) therapy is a standard protocol for treating
children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) admitted in Out-Patient
Therapeutic
Programmes (OTP). The amount of RUTF to be consumed by a child is based on weight
(200 kcal/kg body weight/day) as stipulated in the Kenya Integrated Management
of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) protocol for timely weight gain. There is limited information
on the determinants of consumption of the correct amount of RUTF. This
study sought to fill this gap by establishing the associations between the caregivers'
and the child's characteristics and the amount of RUTF the child ate within a 24-h
recall period. We used a cross-sectional
study design and interviewed 200 caregivers
of children 6–23
months of age admitted in four OTP centers in Nairobi Kenya.
We used a researcher-administered
questionnaire to collect information from the
caregivers. Seventy-three
percent of the children ate the recommended amount of
RUTF. A smaller proportion (54.4%) of younger children (6–11
months of age) ate the
recommended amount of RUTF compared to older children (12–17
months old and
18–23
months old at 89.1% and 82.8%, respectively). The predictors of consumption
of the correct amount of RUTF were child's birth order—firstborn
(AOR 29.92; 95% CI:
5.67–157.93)
and children's age; 12–17
months old (AOR 5.19; 95% CI: 2.18–12.36)
and
18–23
months (AOR 6.19 95% CI: 2.62), indicating that firstborn and older children
were more likely to consume the correct amounts of RUTF. Caregivers' knowledge
and correct practices in feeding a child with RUTF also predicted the consumption
of the correct amount of RUTF. In conclusion, maternal and child characteristics are
determinants of the consumption of the correct amount of RUTF by children in OTP
Description
article
Keywords
adequate intake of Ready-to- Use Therapeutic food (RUTF), children 6–23 months of age,, determinants, outpatient therapy program, predictors, severe acute malnutrition
Citation
Ochola, S., Ogada, I. A., & Odera, C. A. (2022). Predictors of the amount of intake of Ready-To- Use- Therapeutic foods among children in outpatient therapeutic programs in Nairobi, Kenya. Food Science & Nutrition, 10, 1135–1145. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.2745