Association between Malaria, Feeding Habits and Other Socio Demographic Factors in Children Aged 0 – 2 Years in the Buea, Tiko and Limbe Health Districts in Cameroon

Feeding practices are associated with childhood malaria and their severity. Most children 0 to 2years experience malaria and feeding practices may play a major role in the occurrence of this disease. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between feeding practice among children below 2 years with malaria in Buea, Tiko and Limbe health districts. A cross sectional hospital based survey study was carried out in three Health Districts Limbe, Buea and Tiko in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. A total of 1155 mothers attending infant welfare clinics across six hospitals were included. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on feeding practices as well as socio demographic factors. The study revealed that the prevalence of malaria was 21.1 . All feeding habits were associated with malaria P 0.001 . Meanwhile, children who were not breastfed reported the highest prevalence of malaria 62.5 . Malaria positive status increased with age. Among the mothers, the age group that reported significantly P 0.001 higher prevalence of malaria was 32 – 38 years 29.0 for malaria. Level of education was associated with malaria as well as monthly family income P 0.05 . Exclusive breastfeeding was practiced by 55.5 of the mothers, whereas complementary feeding was practiced by 45.5 . The highest proportion of mothers who exclusively breastfed their children was from Limbe 61.6 , followed by Buea 59.3 and the least from Tiko 45.6 . The occurrence of malaria and its association with socio demographic factors cannot be undermined. Mukum Ijang Teche | Jerome Fru-Cho | Tiencheu Bernard | Nana Célestin "Association between Malaria, Feeding Habits and Other Socio-Demographic Factors in Children Aged 0 – 2 Years in the Buea, Tiko and Limbe Health Districts in Cameroon" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-8 | Issue-3 , June 2024, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd64790.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/other-scientific-research-area/other/64790/association-between-malaria-feeding-habits-and-other-sociodemographic-factors-in-children-aged-0-–-2-years-in-the-buea-tiko-and-limbe-health-districts-in-cameroon/mukum-ijang-teche