Indirect Determinants of Severe Acute Malnutrition Among Under-Five Children in Grobogan Regency

Background: Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) could impact the health of under-five children if not immediately resolved. Several studies report that SAM could be affected by indirect factors such as the number of family members, participation in integrated healthcare centre (posyandu), mother’s knowledge about nutrition, and mother’s parenting pattern. There were no previous researches on the indirect determinants of SAM among under-five children in Grobogan Regency. Objective: To analyse the indirect determinants of severe acute malnutrition among under-five children in Grobogan Regency. Methods: This case-control study involved children aged 0-59 months in Grobogan Regency at the time of data collection (May – June 2022). The case group sample consisted of 11 SAM under-five children (weight-for-length < –3 SD), while the control group sample consisted of 11 well-nourished under-five children (weight-for-length -2 SD to +1 SD). The variables studied include the number of family members and participation in integrated healthcare centre (posyandu) which were obtained through interviews, also mother’s knowledge about nutrition and mother’s parenting pattern were obtained through questionnaires consists of 13 items and 10 items, which had been tested for validity and reliability. The data were analysed univariately to obtain subject’s characteristics and descriptions of each variable studied, and bivariate analysis was done by Chi-Square statistical test with a 95% confidence degree (α=0.05). Results: Based on statistical tests in this research, the number of family members (p=0.080), participation in integrated healthcare centre (posyandu) (p=1.000), mother’s knowledge about nutrition (p=0.476), and mother’s parenting pattern (p=0.198) are not included as an indirect determinants of SAM among under-five children. Conclusion: The number of family members, participation in integrated healthcare centre (posyandu), mother’s knowledge about nutrition, and mother’s parenting pattern are not included as an indirect determinants of SAM among under-five children in Grobogan Regency based on statistical tests. Keywords: Severe Acute Malnutrition, Risk Factors, Under-Five Children, Grobogan Regenc