Male involvement and perception towards prevention of malnutrition of children less than 5 years in Ishaka division Bushenyi-district

This study was undertaken to assess male involvement and perception towards prevention of malnutrition of children less than 5 years in Ishaka Division Bushenyi district. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried out in Ishaka division found in Bushenyi district involving 85 males with children below five years and residents of Ishaka Division, selected by simple random sampling. The study showed that there was poor male involvement 32(37%) towards prevention of malnutrition, with majority 28(52.8%) saying it was the duty of women to feed children. The study showed a poor perception of participants towards prevention of malnutrition, majority 29(54.7%) of those who had not been fully involved in child nutrition said it was not necessary to give children special attention for their nutrition needs, the study established that knowing signs of malnutrition in children was a significant factor for males to be involved in prevention of malnutrition for their children with an odds ratio of 0.22(0.09-11.0 and a p-value of 0.003. The result showed that culture was not a significant factor in influencing male involvement in child nutrition, with an odds ratio 3.47(0.14-12.10 and a p-value of 0.128. In conclusion, there was a poor male involvement and perception towards prevention of malnutrition in under five children. Keywords: Male involvement, Child malnutrition prevention, Perception of child nutrition, Under-five nutrition, Ishaka Division study