Abstract

Background: Morbidity and mortality of under-five children is an important indicator of overall development of the country. The problems of malnutrition among under-five children can be used to determine the need for nutritional surveillance, nutritional care, or appropriate nutritional intervention programs in a community.

Objectives: (1) The objective of this study was to study sociodemographic factors related to morbidity in under-fives, (2) to study the nutritional status of underfives admitted in hospital, (3) to study morbidity pattern of admitted under-fives, and (4) to study the immunization status of under-fives. Study Design and Settings: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study.

Materials and Methods: All children below 5 years of age admitted in pediatric ward of government tertiary care hospital from 1st November 2015 to 31st January 2016 were included in the study. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0. Chi-square test of significance was applied. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: In the present study, maximum number of under-fives were males (60%) and belong to 0–12 months age group (44.5%). Maximum number of children were from rural areas (56.5%) belongs to Hindu family (66.55%). Maximum mothers of children were illiterate (60%) and fathers studied up to secondary school (57.5%). Maximum number of under-fives were suffering from respiratory tract infection (RTI) (males-42.5% and females-32.5%). Nearly 60% were completely immunized. 31% were underweight, 33.5% were stunted and 21% were wasted among males which were maximum as compared to females. In study, 79% of children were found malnourished. 33.5% were partially immunized and common morbidity found among under-fives were RTI.

Conclusion: Major interventions needed to improve overall health status of the under-5 children at all health-care level. Further studies should be carried out to assess the impact of health education.

Key words: Malnutrition; Under-fives, WHO Growth Charts; Morbidity; Sociodemographic Factors