Feeding practices, morbidity, and nutrition status of adolescent street children 10-17 years in Nairobi city county, Kenya
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Date
2023-11
Authors
Machocho, Jomo Sofia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
UNICEF approximates that there are millions of street children globally, and a majority of them live in low- and middle-income countries. According to the 2018 National Census of Street Families, 15,347 adolescents are street inhabitants, and approximately 5,046 of live in the streets of Nairobi. Despite this high population, research on the feeding practices, morbidity, and nutrition status of adolescent street children is very limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the feeding practices, morbidity, and nutrition status of adolescent street children 10-17 years in Nairobi City County. Analytical cross-sectional design was used for this study. The study had 248 study participants (89 females and 159 males). The sampling was done by cluster sampling. Five clusters were randomly selected; Jeevanjee Gardens, Uhuru Park, Toi Market, Muthurwa Market, and Gikomba Market. Everyone who met the inclusion criteria in the randomly selected clusters took part in the study. Data was collected using anthropometric tools, interviewer-administered questionnaires, and focus group discussions. Anthropometric data was analysed using WHO AnthroPlus software, quantitative data was analysed using the 25th version of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, and qualitative data was analysed using NVivo 1.0 software. A majority (40.3%) of the study participants had two meals per day. The participants lacked dietary diversity. Majority (75.8%) of the respondents had been sick in the past two weeks prior to the data collection. Over half (54.8%) of the respondents had experienced gastrointestinal (GIT) infection. A few of the respondents were malnourished as 3.2% had severe thinness, 8.1% had thinness, 4.8% were overweight, 7.7% were stunted, and 2.8% were severely stunted. The rate of thinness in the respondents was more than the acceptable levels of wasting recommended by WHO in developing countries (<2%). The cases of under-nutrition were more in adolescent street males than adolescent street females. The study showed that there is a significant relationship between feeding practices and nutrition status of adolescent street children 10-17 years in Nairobi City. The study also showed that there is a significant relationship between morbidity and nutrition status of adolescent street children 10-17 years in Nairobi City County. The findings revealed that the nutrition status of street children is influenced by their feeding practices and morbidity. The county government is planning to construct a rehabilitation centre and develop a policy with programmes for the street children. While waiting for the street children to be rehabilitated, the county government should strengthen the implementation of programmes aimed at improving the feeding practices and health status of street children. Specific feeding and treatment programmes for street children should also be included in the proposed street children rehabilitation policy. To determine effective strategies that can be used to improve the nutrition status of adolescent street children, a longitudinal intervention study should be done.
Description
A research thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science (food, nutrition, and dietetics) in the school of health sciences of Kenyatta University,November 2023
Keywords
Feeding practices, morbidity, nutrition, adolescent, street children