Relationship between child development and nutritional status of under-five Nigerian children

Introduction: Nutrition is a major factor that can have long-term effects on the brain’s structural and functional capacity. The interplay between nutrition and child development cannot be overemphasised, especially in developing countries.Objectives: The study aimed to assess the nutritional status of under-fives and determine the relationship between the nutritional status and their developmental quotient.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was undertaken involving 415 under-fives aged 6–59 months in selected pre-schools and immunisation centres. Developmental assessment was done using the Schedule of Growing Skills II. The nutritional status was assessed using the WHO growth charts for weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age. Chi-square and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were used to determine the association between nutritional status and selected developmental domains.Results: The mean age was 32.6 ± 15.9 months. The male to female ratio was 1.2:1. The overall prevalence of developmental delay was 35.4%, with manipulative domain accounting for the highest delay (25.8%). The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was 9.1, 3.8 and 3.8% while 2.2% were overweight. Weight-for-age had a significant association with the hearing and language domain (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.09–9.72, p = 0.036,) and interactive social domain (OR 5.0, 95% CI 2.0–13.0, p = 0.001).Conclusion: The nutritional status of a child has an effect on certain developmental domains of that child. Interventions to improve the nutritional status of under-fives will go a long way to facilitating the development of this group of children.Keywords: child, developmental delay, developmental quotient, nutritional status, under-fives, Nigeria

Health Care Seeking Behavior among Caregivers of Sick Children Who Had Cerebral Malaria in Northwestern Nigeria

Cerebral malaria is a significant cause of childhood morbidity in our region. The challenges of effective management include time and quality of treatment. The study appraised the health care seeking behavior of caregivers of sick children who developed cerebral malaria, in Zaria, northwestern Nigeria. Caregivers indentified were parents 29 (87.9%) and grandparents 4 (12.1%). Most of them were in the upper social classes. Health care options utilized before presentation at our facility were formal health facility 24 (72.7%), patent medicine seller 12 (36.4%), home treatment 10 (30.3%), and herbal concoction 6 (18.2%) with majority 24 (72.7%) using more than one option. Antimalarial therapy was instituted in 25 (75.6%) of the cases. Mortality was significantly associated with the use of herbal concoction, treatment at a formal health facility and patent medicine seller, multiple convulsions, age less than 5 years, and noninstitution of antimalarial therapy before presentation. The study showed use of inappropriate health care options by caregivers and highlighted the need to pursue an awareness drive among caregivers on the use of health care options

Prevalence and sociodemographic determinants of developmental delay: a cross-sectional study of under-five Nigerian children

Background: developmental problems or delays are preventable and others may be ameliorated by interventions. Developmental delay and factors associated with it therefore need to be identified in order for early and appropriate interventions to be instituted. This study therefore aimed to determine the prevalence of developmental delay among under-fives and identify the sociodemographic factors associated with the delay.Methods: Four hundred and fifteen Nigerian children, aged 6- 59 months were assessed for development using the Schedule of Growing Skills II tool. Developmental quotient below threshold point of 85% in a developmental domain was used to define developmental delay.Results: Of the 415 children assessed, 147 (35.4%) had delay in the various developmental domains. The highest prevalence was in the manipulative domain (25.8%) followed by visual (17.1%), cognitive skill (13.5%), hearing and language (6.3%), interactive social (5.8%), self-care social (4.4%) and speech and language (4.1%). Low maternal education was significantly associated with delay in locomotive domain (4.3%; OR=5.00; 95% CI=1.04-23.84), manipulative domain (32.4%; OR=1.89; Most 95% CI=1.21-2.95), visual domain (22.9%; OR=2.11; 95% CI=1.25-3.55), speech and language (6.4%; OR=3.03; 95% CI=1.05-8.75), interactive social (8%; OR=3.05; 95% CI=1.32-7.04), self-care social (6.9%; OR=3.30; 95% CI=1.15-9.43), cognitive (17.6%; OR=1.89; 95% CI= 1.07-3.35). Birth order and household size also had significant association with delay in various domains. There was no significant association between socioeconomic class and developmental delay in any of the domains.Conclusion: The study showed that developmental delay was relatively common among under-five children in North-West Nigeria; and has a strong association with some sociodemographic factors. There is need to screen children for developmental delay for early intervention.Keywords: Child Development, Developmental Delay, Developmental Domain, Developmental Skills, Under-Fives, Sociodemograhic factor

Performance of school health programme in Nigeria: A situation analysis

Background: School Health Programme (SHP) if effectively implemented, will contribute to the optimal health of schoolchildren. In this survey, the extent of the implementation of SHP in Nigeria was evaluated. Methods: The study was crosssectional nationwide, school-based survey, and schools were randomly selected. The school proprietors, school health personnel, teachers, students, and parents were interviewed using an interviewer- administered questionnaire on the key components of SHP. Results: A total of 105 schools were surveyed. The proportion of students, teachers and parents who were aware of SHP were 26.3%, 11.1% and 9.10%, respectively. The proportion of the schools which conduct mental health, nutritional assessment and visual & hearing screening were 48.6%, 51.4%, and 57.1%, respectively. There were 18 (17.6%) schools that had trained person in charge of the health of students. Schools that still use pit toilet and open defecation method were 22.9% and 11.3%, respectively. The proportion of school with retainership with a health facility was 37.1%. Conclusion: The SHP awareness is poor in Nigeria, and its implementation is sub-optimal. There is need for renewed interest in SHP in Nigeria through reform and deliberate interventions especially on establishing school-based vaccination programme and referral of sick pupils to healthcare facility