Factors of Chronic Malnutrition in Children Less than Five Years of Age: A Study Conducted at Cibitoke Hospital, Burundi

Children in Cibitoke province face chronic malnutrition at a high and persistent rate. Although several organizations have tried to face this situation, various factors are causing it and the problem persists. This is why a preliminary study is worthwhile to identify the determining factors of this persistent malnutrition. Therefore, a cross-sectional study with an analytical purpose was conducted at Cibitoke Hospital in 2023. The purposive sampling technique was used to include children less than five years of age and their mothers, resulting in a sample of 1048 children and 1048 mothers. Data were collected using a questionnaire encoded with KoboCollect and it was completed face-to-face with participants. Multiple variables were analyzed simultaneously. The univariate, the bivariate and the multivariate analyses were performed with SPSS 25.0. Only variables with a p < 0.05 in the multivariate logistic regression were considered to be significantly associated with chronic malnutrition. As findings, the descriptive analysis showed a prevalence of chronic malnutrition of 55% in children less than five years of age in our sample. Multiple logistic regression identified factors associated with chronic malnutrition as: child age (p=0.000), household size (p=0.011), household standard of living (p=0.000), duration of breastfeeding (p=0.029), setting of residence (p=0.016) and source of drinking water (p=0.022). This research shed light on the determinants of chronic malnutrition in children less than five years of age at Cibitoke Hospital. So, interventions to reduce this public health problem must target these identified factors.