Impact of Facility Based Dietary Management on Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children Aged 6 to 60 Months Admitted in Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of KLES's Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital of Belagavi City ? A Longitudinal Study

Background India is home to more than one-third of the world-s under-nourished children, according to WHO Health statistics 2012 and 54 % of deaths among under five children are due to malnutrition in developing countries. Objective To assess the impact of facility based dietary management on severe acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 60 months. Materials and Methods The present longitudinal study was carried out among the children aged between 6 to 60 months admitted in Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital. Pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the required information. Paired t test was calculated to see the association. Results Majority (80 %) children were severe acute malnourished and (20 %) were moderate acute malnourished. The mean weight, height, MUAC and Hb % of children increased at the time of discharge and during follow up visits. A statistically significant relationship was found between weight, height, MUAC and Hb % at different intervals (pless than0.05). Conclusion Nutritional rehabilitation centre has a positive impact on the nutritional status of the children who were admitted to the hospital while after the discharge of the children from the hospital there was a slow but steady and apparent increase in the weight, height, MUAC and Hb %.